


Until the End

by deluxemycroft



Series: Ouroboros [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asgard, Asgardian Culture (Marvel), Assisted Suicide Attempt, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Body Modification, Bureaucracy, Changing body parts, Coming In Pants, Consensual Non-Consent, Consensual Somnophilia, Cross-cultural, Cultural Differences, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dirty Talk, Exhibitionism, Final Battle, Helheimr | Hel (Realm), Incest, Infinity Gems, Jealous Steve, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Knifeplay, Lust Potion/Spell, M/M, Molestation, Multi, Politics, Potions, Relationship Problems, Rough Sex, Royalty, Somnophilia, Soulmates, Suicidal Thoughts, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, Torture, Vormir, Warning: Loki, a quest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:40:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 165,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22852627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deluxemycroft/pseuds/deluxemycroft
Summary: Thanos takes.Loki takes back.Whatever it takes.
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton & Loki, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Clint Barton/Laura Barton/Stephen Strange, Clint Barton/Stephen Strange, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Laura Barton/Stephen Strange, Loki/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Sif
Series: Ouroboros [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1199902
Comments: 45
Kudos: 48





	1. chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> well folks! here it is! it took me five months to write this fic. i have worked SO hard on it...it often felt like it was punching me while i was trying to write it. but here it is! finished! it's pretty long and a lot happens in it. each chapter averages at about 10k words. please read each previous fic in this series before reading this one, as i can only imagine how confusing it would be without knowing the context for a lot of it.
> 
> warnings are in the tags. i'll update them with every chapter. loki is still...loki, clint is still Like That, and steve is just the long-suffering guy doing his best.
> 
> a new chapter will be posted every saturday.
> 
> thank you so much for reading!

Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the New York Sanctum, Sorcerer Supreme, stepped out of the portal into the lobby of the Avengers Facility. Like most everyone else, he’d been watching the news, seeing how the Avengers who had refused to sign the Sokovia Accords were formally pardoned, how Steve Rogers came on TV and made a rousing speech about standing up for what you believe in and never faltering and never standing down. He talked about faith and how good things come to those who work for it. Then he smiled and Tony Stark stepped up next to him, clapped him on the shoulder, and the two of them turned to the camera and announced the official return of the Avengers and the threat of an alien called Thanos that they were working to destroy.

The Ancient One, before her death, and a few of the other sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, had been working with Dr. Bruce Banner on finding the Infinity Stones. Banner and Stark had created a machine that could track the distinct energy flares from usage of the Stones, and they had been working with Loki of Asgard, one of the original Avengers, to find them. Loki already possessed the Tesseract and seemed rather unwilling to give it up for testing or any type of examination. However, he was willing to offer up whatever information he had on the location of the other Stones, which was a great deal, and that was helpful enough.

Loki’s late brother, Thor, had created some kind of time loop and had pulled Loki through it over a thousand times. The Ancient One had been horrified when she’d told him of it, had shown him Banner’s journal where Clint Barton, who had been Hawkeye and was now Loki’s indentured servant or something, had written down notes on the time loops that he remembered. He hadn’t been given enough information to understand just _how_ Barton remembered the lives that Loki had lived, but the Ancient One had told him he would learn in time. 

In time. Ha.

Stephen looked around the foyer of the Avengers Facility. His Cloak brushed against his cheek as he looked around. It was gorgeous, everything done in elegant, modern style with right angles and smooth edges and long counters. There was a desk behind which a receptionist would usually sit, but instead there was just a small sign.

_Call for FRIDAY._

Before he could say anything, something in the air changed and Stephen turned his head to see a strange rift form in between dimensions. His hands shook as he raised them.

He could feel the energy that could only come from an Infinity Stone, and Stephen took a step back as two people stepped through the rift. The taller one, with long greasy black hair and sharp features and quick green eyes, clad in a thin green sweater over black leggings and black flats, could only be Loki. Something about him made the hair on the back of Stephen’s neck rise up. The shorter one was definitely not Steve Rogers, so he had to be Clint Barton. He was nondescript, almost plain, not handsome or ugly, but his eyes were bright and he was grinning, and on his back, a bow and quiver, a strange dagger on his belt. There was a peculiar golden snake wrapped around his neck like he was a trophy or something. It made Stephen immediately uneasy.

They both glanced over him and Barton gave him a jaunty wave and then they walked past, Barton animatedly telling a story about something or other.

“It’s this way,” Barton called back to him. Stephen glanced back at the sign and then followed them into a conference room, windows open to let in a breeze, a few agents outside on the massive training fields. One of them was flying on strange wings, swooping around and diving. Another was shrouded in a strange red energy, and another was flying around, long cape flapping.

“You’re early,” Barton told him, messing with the coffee maker. Loki was already sitting at the conference table, tapping away at his phone. “I’m Clint. Hawkeye. Well, I was Hawkeye. There’s another Hawkeye now, but I was Hawkeye first. Coffee?”

Stephen nodded and didn’t offer to shake his hand. “Dr. Strange,” he said. “Stark told me the meeting started at 11.”

Barton glanced at the clock on the wall, which read 10.45. Barton shrugged at him. “We usually show up early. That’s Loki, by the way. Don’t take offense at anything he does. He gets off on being rude.” Barton held out a cup of coffee and motioned to the Avengers that Stephen had been watching. “That’s Falcon. Sometimes he’s Captain America. The red one is Scarlet Witch, the freaky guy with her is the Vision. They’ll all be in in a few minutes.” Barton moved around the table to hand Loki a cup of coffee and then lean on the back of his chair. “So, how much do you know?”

“Of what?” Stephen asked, watching Loki’s face as the alien carelessly dropped his phone to the table and picked up the mug, conjuring up chocolate to pour in. 

“Thanos, Doc. That’s why we’re all here. Hope Stark told you that much.” Barton slurped at his cup and reached into the space around him and somehow pulled out the Tesseract, tossing it up into the air and then catching it again. Stephen nodded, slowly.

“I have heard much of him,” Stephen said, taking a small sip of coffee, watching as Falcon did a spin and then landed, wings retracting into a pack on his back. “Will Dr. Banner be here? He has been working with my associates for over a year now.”

Barton nodded at him. “Oh, yeah, he’ll be here. Cap and Tony called everyone in. I’m retired, you know, from the whole Avenging thing, and they still called me in. We’ve been on Asgard for the past few months and had to come all the way here for this meeting.”

“Good,” Stephen said. “I am eager to speak with him.” He looked at Loki, who was forming ice crystals in his coffee. “He has done great research into the spell your brother used.”

Green eyes flicked to him and Loki’s mouth curled into something that would’ve been a smile on anyone else. “So they tell me,” Loki said, and his voice was deeper and smoother than Stephen expected, but it made something cautious and careful rise in Stephen’s chest, as if he was looking at a snake that he was unsure if it was poisonous or not. His Cloak brushed against his cheek. Loki motioned at Barton, who pulled out a purple notebook from _somewhere,_ and Loki opened it, laying it out on the table. “The research of your scientists has essentially confirmed my theories about Thor’s spell. Thor informed me that he spent much time in your Sanctum after Thanos won, that very first time. He found a spell, or many spells, and coupled with our mother’s experience and powers, used the Norn Stones to create a time loop. The time loop acted similarly to dimensions, in that every iteration was different than the one before. Clint confirmed this.”

Barton nodded.

“Is there more that your scientists found?” Loki asked mildly. “Such as Thor was working with HYDRA, or that he made a deal with Thanos, or that my mother faked her own death and forced a seidrmadr to fracture my soul to bind me to my brother? Because there is much more.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow at him. “I might be a doctor, but I’m not your therapist.”

Barton laughed. “Aw, don’t worry about him, Doc. He just hasn’t gotten laid in a month, so he’s testy.”

Stephen rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee. “Are we allowed to use that as an excuse?” he teased. “Because my mood should be even worse.”

Barton threw his head back and laughed. “I told him the same! It’s been almost two months for me! My wife was out of town for two weeks while we were home, and then Loki here had to drag me all over the galaxy.” Loki rolled his eyes at the two of them and picked his phone up again. Barton put away the purple notebook and tossed the Tesseract up into the air again. “Hey, Stark has some liquor hidden in the cabinet. You want me to top up your coffee? Cap doesn’t like us drinking during meetings, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Stephen nodded and held out his cup for Barton to fill it. Barton rummaged through the cabinet behind him and victoriously held up a bottle. “Ooh, he left rum this time. This looks kinda expensive. You know anything about rum, Doc? Appleton Estate.” Barton came over and generously filled up Stephen’s cup and then took a sip, giving the bottle an approving look. He handed the bottle to Loki, who took a small sip and gave the bottle the exact same approving look and then disappeared the bottle. Stephen mixed the rum into his coffee and nodded.

The door opened and a tall man with the broadest shoulders Stephen had ever seen strode in. He was classically handsome, almost like a statue, with blond hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a familiar suit, mostly blue with a grey star on the chest and red running down his arms and legs, and red and white stripes down his stomach. A familiar shield was on his back.

Captain America.

Stephen had grown up with the legend, same as everyone else. He’d learned about Captain America in school. He’d read books about Captain America giving the ultimate sacrifice to save the world, remembered watching the news when they’d pulled him out of the ice, when he’d taken up the shield again and fought to save the world.

Those same blue eyes narrowed as he saw Stephen sitting across the table from Loki and Barton, and then Captain America nodded to him and held out his hand. “I’m Steve,” he said. “It’s a pleasure, Doctor.”

“I don’t shake,” Stephen said, standing and pulling off one of his heavy gloves to show how his hands still shook. Steve just nodded as Stephen introduced himself. “Dr. Stephen Strange, but it seems you already knew that.”

Steve’s eyes flicked to Loki, who had a faintly amused look on his face, and then Steve smiled at him. “You’ll find we know a lot more than we should,” Steve said with a smile, and he walked around the table to give Barton a brief hug and for Loki to push to his feet and slide a hand down Steve’s chest.

“I missed you,” Loki murmured, and leaned down to press their mouths together. Stephen dropped his gaze to the table, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Something in the air around them changed, something he couldn’t put a finger on, but it felt almost like...words? There was something. He wouldn’t have noticed at all if he wasn’t so attuned to the energies and dimensions around him. They separated and Steve moved around the conference table to a smaller table at the top of the room, picking up one of the tablets that Stephen hadn’t noticed there. He handed one to Clint and then slid another down the table to Stephen.

“Hopefully everyone will be here soon,” Steve said with a smile.

* * *

Clint leaned on the back of Loki’s chair, really doing his damnedest to hold in his giggles. He’d forgotten how fucking _funny_ Stephen was. Sure, the guy was an arrogant ass, but so were the rest of them. But he was a lot funnier than they gave him credit for. He wasn’t funny in the way Stark tried to be funny, like if he didn’t get attention he’d die, but in a far more subtle way. Clint genuinely enjoyed his company. He was a lot better this go-around than he was in the time before, but Clint only knew him through Loki’s eyes.

They were talking about Thanos. It was doubly frustrating for him and Loki and Steve, given that they all knew exactly the kind of horror Thanos would wrought upon them, to see everyone not taking them entirely seriously or underestimating the threat or believing their armies were enough. They’d spent the past few months on Asgard, talking with the Einherjar and seidrmadrs and scientists, going from Realm to Realm, gaining promises and writing treaties and getting as many warriors as they could. Few in the Nine had not now heard of Prince Loki and Clint, his servant or bodyguard or whatever other term they wanted to use.

Steve and Tony really had called in everyone. The table was full. T’Challa, with Okoye standing behind him, Nat, Valkyrie, Bruce, Sam, Kate, Wanda, Vision, Rhodey, that Spider-man kid, Fury, Coulson, and the ever delightful Scott Lang and his partner Hope Pym. The room was chock full. 

Bucky was the biggest absence, but Sam had muttered to Clint that he couldn’t be around so many people, so they’d fill him in later. 

Loki was there on behalf of Asgard and the Nine Realms, laying out plans for where each of their armies would be most effective. He shook his head. “Our armies are numerous, yes, but we still are less than Thanos’s. This can be manageable, of course, with the correct field of battle.”

“How many of your armies can fight on Earth?” Tony asked. “You said there’s frost giants. Will they melt?”

“Will a frost giant melt?” Loki asked, an amused smile tilting his lips. Clint snorted. “No. I believe we have no worry of that. We spoke to Eitri of Nidavellir, which is not of the Nine but adjacent to them, and he told us of how Thanos can demolish an entire Realm within hours, so great is his army.”

“Eitri?” Valkyrie asked, leaning forward. “What word comes from Nidavellir?”

“Little,” Loki told her regretfully. “For Thanos killed all but him. They built him his Gauntlet and then Thanos slaughtered the Dwarves. Eitri is upon Asgard now, where our healers work to fix his hands. We doused the sun and Nidavellir shines no more.”

Valkyrie sat back in her seat, stunned. Natasha patted her hand.

“You doused a sun?” Rhodey asked, Scott repeating his question.

Loki inclined his head. “Aye. We made use of the Tesseract and opened a portal over the sun so it could not be stoked and used again. No more weapons come from Nidavellir.”

Valkyrie shook her head.

“What’s this Nidavellir place?” Tony asked.

“Where the Dwarves live,” Loki informed him. “They created the great weapons of Asgard, such as Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, using a metal called _uru_ , which the Dwarves mined from the core of the sun that Nidavellir orbits. With the dousing of the sun, there can be no more uru. I also have a spear made by them, and I believe they made the weapons of the Valkyrie.” Valkyrie nodded. Loki tipped his head at Clint, who pulled out one of his arrows from the quiver on his back and showed off the tip. “They created the tips of these arrows. Weapons made by the Dwarves never go dull and are always perfectly balanced. Their loss is great.”

“Hopefully Eitri can pass on his knowledge,” Clint piped up, sliding the arrow back into his quiver. “Anyway, we need a battlefield. Somewhere safe, with an infirmary, with chokepoints, stall points, border protection, the whole nine yards. My place is the closest thing we have right now.”

Everyone glanced around and with a sigh, T’Challa spoke up. “Wakanda fits your needs,” he said a bit regretfully.

Clint nodded. “Thanks, your Majesty. We’ll put it on the list.”

“What of the Infinity Stones?” Vision asked. “There are three currently within this room. Is that safe?”

Everyone looked at Vision’s forehead and then at Loki. Clint tossed the Tesseract up into the air and caught it. “All we have is the Tesseract. Which Thanos knows we have, by the way.”

Stephen Strange sighed. He’d been mostly silent during the meeting, occasionally asking questions or sliding in snarky comments. He opened his red cloak and motioned to the Eye of Agamotto. “The Eye houses the Time Stone. It is my sworn duty to protect it.”

“Thanos has the Reality Stone,” Loki piped up. “Which means we only must find the Power Stone before he does.”

“And the Soul Stone,” Natasha said, glancing at Valkyrie.

“We can’t just destroy them?” Tony asked. “Garbage disposal or anything?”

Clint chuckled while Stephen shook his head. “It is impossible to destroy an Infinity Stone,” Stephen replied. “Each Stone represents, and controls, a different facet of existence. To destroy one would be to destroy that element.”

“Or it’s theorized,” Clint added in. “Given that one of them has never been destroyed, we can’t know for sure. But it’s too dangerous. We just have to get them before he does.”

“Like shitty keepaway,” Tony said, shaking his head. Then he nodded. “Fine. Who goes to get the Power Stone?”

“I will,” Steve said, stepping forward. “Clint will go with me.” Loki frowned at him and turned back to Clint. “We’ll leave tomorrow. Loki will go to Wakanda with Valkyrie and Natasha and T’Challa, if that is acceptable?” T’Challa nodded. 

“And the Soul Stone?” Vision pressed.

Steve shook his head. “It isn’t worth it,” he decided. “We’ll stop there, but not to get the Stone.”

“And everyone else?” Sam asked. “Stay here? Continue training?”

Steve and Tony exchanged glances and then Steve nodded. “That’s probably best. I don’t know of anything in the docket that needs the Avengers right now, so everyone else can stay here or go home. But keep up on your training. Thanos is unlike anything we’ve fought before. His armies are unthinkably large and he is more powerful than any of us.”

Fury leaned in close to Coulson and muttered something about a pager, but Coulson shook his head.

“If anyone has any questions, come to me after the meeting. For now, dismissed.”

Loki immediately pushed to his feet and moved around the conference table to talk to Steve. _Why are you taking Clint?_

Steve turned off his tablet and smiled at him. _What’s yours is mine, right?_

Loki frowned at him. _You cannot just...take him._

_Are you really telling me you can’t survive without Clint for a day?_

Loki’s brows drew together. _Of course I can. I merely find it easier with him._

 _Codependent,_ Steve teased, brushing Loki’s hair off his face. Loki grimaced and Steve dropped his hand. _We’ll go to Xandar, get the Power Stone, hop over to Vormir, maybe kill the Keeper of the Soul Stone, then come back here. Then I’ll use the Power Stone to fuck you into next year._

Loki considered all that, glancing around the room, eyes flickering red for a moment, just to make sure it was all real. It was something he did so often now that he didn’t even notice he was doing it. _The draw of the Soul Stone will be very great,_ he said finally. _Do not toss him off the cliff._

_You’re not worried about him tossing me?_

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. _You truly believe Clint would risk coming home to me without you?_

Steve smiled at him. _Of course not._ He turned to look at Sam, who was glaring at him. _I gotta go talk to Sam. I’ll see you at home._

Loki nodded and rejoined Clint, the two of them watching as Sam argued with Steve about not going with him to Xandar. 

_The Stone is inside the Nova Corps Headquarters,_ Loki told Clint. _I am sure it will be difficult to retrieve._ His eyes fell on Stephen, who was talking to Tony. _I enjoyed seeing him again._

_Do you miss him?_

Loki’s mouth pursed. _Yes and no. I have everything I need in Steve. I do miss having someone of similar intellect around._

_Hey!_

Loki smirked. _Are you done pretending to be busy?_

 _I should probably talk to Kate._ Clint winked at him and moved around the table to where Scott and Kate and Spider-man, who was the only person in the room wearing a mask, were all talking. 

Rhodes stepped up to Loki. “How bad is this Thanos guy, really?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“His end goal is to eliminate half of all life,” Loki said, turning to him. “I see you are walking better after your accident.”

“Yeah, Tony made me the leg braces.” Rhodey motioned to Stephen. “You know, he used to be a surgeon. World-famous. Refused to operate on my back after my fall.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, I am glad to see Tony finally brought in someone with good taste.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes and wisely decided to ignore that comment. “Why half of all life, anyway?”

“Thanos is under the misguided impression that killing half of all life, including animals, can give the survivors a better life.” Loki flicked a quick look over the room. “He has done it to many a planet. He is mad. Beyond mad.”

Rhodey gave him a long look and then cleared his throat and said, “Tony won’t ever apologize, but I will. We should’ve listened to you about the Accords. If we’d all refused, they couldn’t have done anything. We could’ve made them rewrite them, at least. So, Loki, I’m sorry.”

Loki inclined his head. “I thank you, then, James. I suppose it all worked out in the end.” He motioned to the room. “I am a Prince, as I am sure you know. I understand the purpose of organizations such as ours needing oversight. But it was done incorrectly, and we are more than capable of governing ourselves.” He shot Rhodes an amused look. “It is Tony, after all, who has created most of our problems.”

“Yeah,” Rhodes laughed weakly. “I know. I try to keep him in check, but there’s only so much I can do. But I know you talked to him. You and Barton. Whatever you did, or whatever you have on him, it helped. He’s calmed down a lot.”

“I am glad to hear it.” Loki shot Rhodey an assessing look and glanced across the room to see Clint giving him a thumbs up. He opened up a pocket dimension and pulled out a vial of green potion. He conjured up a very small vial and poured in three drops of the heill. “This is a healing potion. Pour these drops into a glass of water and drink all of it. It will heal your spine and any other ailments you suffer from.”

“I’m paralyzed from the waist down. My spine was completely severed,” Rhodey told him, taking the tiny vial and holding it up to the light. “I use a diaper. This can fix me?”

Loki noticed Stephen watching from the other side of the room but paid no attention to him.

“Yes. I assume it will be painful, so I would wait until later. Perhaps when you are alone.” Loki put the vial away and, uncomfortable, moved away to talk with Valkyrie and Natasha. 

“Prince,” Valkyrie greeted under her breath. She glanced up at him. “I never offered you proper congratulations on your wedding.”

Loki bowed his head. “No,” he agreed, “you did not. But I survived without it.”

She rolled her eyes and looked at Natasha, who said, “The wedding was lovely.”

Loki nodded. “I was told later that flowers bloomed in every inch of the kingdom, and we brought in three days where the sun did not set. Far more impressive than the last wedding I witnessed.”

Natasha smiled at him, but it looked forced. Loki was used to that from her. “Asgard is a beautiful place,” she told him. Loki stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “So, are the servants well paid?”

“I suppose,” Loki replied. “I never asked. Being a servant in the palace is an honorable position, and highly sought after. But I do know that they do not have to pay for their own health care, as you must in your country.” Her mouth tightened. “Servants are given free room and board, as well as any food that is not eaten by the royal family. I assume it can be difficult, but surely no more difficult than your own position here.”

Valkyrie nodded. “Before I joined the Valkyries, I was Einherjar, and I was friends with many servants. It was not easy, but neither is being a soldier.”

Clint joined them, giving Natasha a quick hug before regretfully telling Loki that they needed to leave. “Sorry ladies, but I gotta take him away.”

They stepped out into the hall and Clint handed Loki the Tesseract. The moment Loki activated it, he turned his head back to see Stephen watching them through the open door.

They landed on Clint’s porch. They walked into the house and through the empty kitchen to Loki’s rooms, where they both stripped down and changed into more comfortable clothes, Loki choosing green leggings and a ragged tank top, Clint choosing loose purple sweats and an old white t-shirt. Clint rustled up some food in the kitchen while Loki went into the living room to curl up on his armchair and turn on the TV. 

_Have you been to Xandar?_ Clint asked.

Loki thought about it. _Not in my recollection. I cannot imagine a reason to go there besides the Power Stone._

_I’m not looking forward to going to Vormir again._

_Yes, it is quite an awful place. What do you think Steve will do when he sees the Keeper?_

_I mean, kill him hopefully? If he can be killed. My biggest hope is that I don’t get tossed off the ledge._ Clint shuddered and brought out a huge bowl of salad, which Loki took. Clint settled on the floor between Loki’s chair and the settee and wrapped a blanket around himself, leaning his head against Loki’s thigh, opening his mouth when Loki’s hand brought him food. _Should I take the Tesseract, just in case, or will you need it?_

 _Both Natasha and the Valkyrie are very small,_ Loki mused, picking out a piece of lettuce and eating it. _They should be easy enough to bring through dimensions. I would rather you have it. Steve can walk through dimensions well enough now, but...what is the expression?_

_Better safe than sorry._

The two of them slipped into comfortable silence for awhile, Loki alternating feeding himself and Clint, slipping down the bridge between their minds, taking up his throne at the front of Clint’s mind. 

_Has Steve been here yet?_

_Not by himself, no. I think he’s trying to protect my privacy or something. Or maybe he doesn’t know he can._

_Privacy?_ Loki asked amusedly. _Since when have you cared about that?_

Clint snorted. _Well, I used to. But you kind of decided you didn’t care about that._

_Not when it comes to you._

Clint grinned at him. _That’s what I like to hear._

He settled at Loki’s feet and closed his eyes.

Awhile later, Steve entered Clint’s mind, Loki conjuring a chair for him, and the Captain took it, brushing his fingers through Clint’s hair.

 _We leave for Xandar upon morning light,_ Steve told him, looking out over the innumerable stars of all imaginable colors in the galaxy of Clint’s mind. _Do you ever get tired of it?_ he asked Loki. _It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen._

 _Aw, geez,_ Clint muttered.

 _So far I have not,_ Loki told him. _Did you soothe Sam’s worries?_

Steve sighed. _If it was anywhere else, for any other reason, he’d be my first choice. But I...I can’t. I tried to tell him it wasn’t about trust, or skill, or anything like that. When it comes down to it, if it’s a matter of life or death, Clint will do what I say. Sam would too, but there’s a chance that he wouldn’t, even if it’s one out of a hundred, or one out of a thousand, and this is something that can’t run that risk._

Clint leaned into the hand in his hair. Loki or Steve’s, it didn’t matter. _Glad to be of service,_ he murmured. 

Loki tipped his head over to look at Steve. _Two days ago, we had been married for six months. How is married life treating you, my Captain?_

Steve took his hand, brushed his fingers over the ever-changing band on Loki’s left ring finger. Carefully, he lifted Loki’s hand to his mouth and pressed his mouth to that very same ring. _My only regret is that I have not spent every minute at your side. How did Asgard treat you?_

_I have found they are more partial to me now that I am married. Less talk of me being a witch, for one. I command more respect, as well. We went to all of the Nine._

_Did you see Laufey?_

Loki shook his head. _We did not meet him, but with his seidrmadrs and one of his advisors. Did you know I have brothers? They are both younger than I. Byleistr and Helblindi. I once theorized I was Laufey’s eldest son, called myself the rightful King of Jotunheim. It turns out I was not wrong._

_Could you take the throne? If you wished._

_If I killed Laufey, perhaps. But I have no desire for it. The only throne I need is this one._ Loki looked around Clint’s mind and then to Steve, who smiled at him. _We have the power of the Nine Realms behind us. Besides Helheim, of course, but that was to be expected. Our armies may equal Thanos’s yet._

Steve nodded, a bit of tension seeping out of his shoulders. _How do you feel of our victory now?_

_Once my husband wields the Power Stone, our victory is far more assured._

Steve looked at his hands. _Will I even be able to wield it? I am only human, after all._

 _A human who is married to me,_ Loki reminded him, _and a human who is more than that. The serum still runs through your blood, does it not? Perhaps this was what it was meant for._

_If the Power Stone burns the serum out of me…_

_Then we will deal with that. Do not fear. Even if you are somehow reduced to your former self, it will change little._ Loki pressed his fingers to his mouth as he thought. _Would you need a stool? To get into bed and such similar things? I’ll have to find one._

Steve rolled his eyes. _I wasn’t_ that _short. It was mostly the dozen diseases I had._

Loki shrugged one shoulder. _We have potions for that._ He flicked his gaze over Steve’s body. _I suppose I will miss your shoulders the most. Oh, and your penis. Did the serum cause that to grow?_

Steve shook his head. _I don’t remember,_ he muttered.

_You mean to tell me you have absolutely no idea if your penis grew larger after the serum. For all you’re aware, it could’ve shrunk. That’s what you would have me believe?_

He groaned and threw his head back. _It grew two inches!_ Steve tried to rub the blush out of his cheeks. _Got a bit thicker, too._

 _Two inches,_ Loki mused. _Fine then. In the unlikely event of the Power Stone causing the serum that has worked without fault for, what, eighty years? To burn out of your body, then we will find you some manner of penis-extender. A potion, perhaps. Is that what you wanted to hear?_

_Yeah, Loki. Thanks._

_What are you gonna do in Wakanda tomorrow?_ Clint asked tiredly, opening his eyes and blinking blearily up at the two of them.

Loki grimaced. Having to spend an entire day with Brunnhilde and Natasha? At least T’Challa and Shuri were tolerable. _Hopefully whatever space they show me is more functional than your home. I would rather wreck up someone else’s lawn, as it were._

Clint held up a hand as his brain came back online. _Hold on. I’m sure that’s really interesting, but, Steve, your dick only got two inches bigger? Didn’t you grow like a foot?_

Steve pushed to his feet. _I’m not gonna talk about this._

 _I could just go into your memories,_ Clint threatened. _Did you have like a mega-dick before the serum?_

Loki turned to him, eyebrows raised. _Yes, Steve. Did you have a mega-dick?_

 _I hate that you said that,_ Steve told Loki, and he barely stopped himself from putting his head in his hands. _It grew three inches!_ Steve finally exclaimed. _Almost four! Is that better?_

Clint frowned. _I mean, not really. Gross. But thanks for finally telling the truth, Captain America._

 _Truth about your penis,_ Loki reminded him, and then the two of them finally broke out into rambunctious laughter.

 _I’m leaving,_ Steve told them, and stepped out onto the bridge that would lead him to Loki’s mind. _I can’t believe this is what I chose to deal with._

 _Have fun with your mega-dick!_ Clint called after him, which sent both him and Loki into giggles again.

Once they both calmed down and Steve was long gone, Loki pushed to his feet and left Clint’s mind, opening his eyes to see Steve sitting on the couch next to his armchair, still shaking his head. Clint stole his salad bowl and finished it off, chuckling every few bites.

“I understand your worries,” Loki told Steve with a small smile, “but I believe we have nothing to fear. If anything goes wrong, Clint will be with you. If he cannot fix it, he can surely make it worse.”

“My specialty,” Clint said through a full mouth. “It’ll be fine, Cap. You’ll see.”

* * *

The only places in the galaxy that Clint really liked were Asgard and Earth. Everywhere else kind of sucked. Xandar was one of those places. It was run by the Nova Empire, who had a treaty with the Kree, which sucked of them, but Clint supposed that sometimes people had to make deals with awful armies like the Kree in order or survive or whatever. Politics weren’t really his thing. He knew the Kree were bad and that was about it. 

Steve was doing his best to pretend like he’d been on another planet before. Which he had, technically. Asgard and all. But Asgard was different than a whole other planet on the far side of the galaxy. They were both glamoured in Nova Corps uniforms, Clint’s Aesir bow and quiver hidden on his back, Steve carrying his shield on his arm and Mjolnir on his belt. 

They’d explored the city for the bit, Allspeech letting them talk with the locals, and then they’d moved into the headquarters. The Power Stone was hidden inside an Orb, and then further hidden inside a vault, but hey, they were Captain America and Hawkeye. Nothing was impossible. 

Except for this one thing, of course. Apparently something about them attracted the attention of every other Nova Corps member and were constantly being asked to run down the hall or gather up some documents or, in one case, go clean up some toilets. Clint mostly thought it was funny. Steve was more annoyed than anything. 

_We don’t even know where it is,_ Steve grumbled. _Where the hell are top secret safes kept?_

Clint’s plan had mostly been to just wander around until he happened upon it, so thinking it through like Steve was probably smart. _Basement?_ he guessed, and Steve sighed at him. 

_It’s better than just walking around for another two hours,_ Steve grumbled. They quickly found some stairs and Clint grinned up at him.

 _You know,_ Clint started, and Steve groaned. 

_Whenever you start a sentence like that I always end up regretting listening to it._

Clint’s grin just grew bigger. _You never told me whether or not you got a boner when you saw Loki._

 _How do you have absolutely no shame?_ Steve grumbled. 

_Don’t really see the point in it,_ Clint replied with a shrug. _It’s all natural, anyway. Sex and body parts and all that. Not sure why I’d spend energy on being ashamed of talking about something natural when I could spend that energy on eating pizza or whatever._

Steve thought about that. _Makes sense,_ he said grudgingly. _And I owe you $100._

Clint jumped into the air and fist pumped. _Oh! I gotta ’nother favor to ask you, Cap._

They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked around a corner to see an empty hallway lined with various doors, all at equal distance apart and of the same size and shape. Clint supposed they could lead to secret safe rooms. 

_What is it?_

Damn. Steve was too smart to just agree to whatever Clint wanted. _When you get the Power Stone, can you punch me with it? You still haven’t hit me, so I’m hoping I can get a really good one in._

The first door didn’t open, so Clint fiddled with the arrows he’d brought, hoping one of them was a lock-picking arrow. Huh. No luck. Maybe he’d dreamt that one. He dug through his bag while Steve angsted and kept a lookout. 

_You know,_ Steve finally said, and _that_ never boded well for Clint, _I still don’t understand why Loki hurts you._

 _Because I like it, usually,_ Clint said, triumphantly holding up a paperclip. Hopefully a super advanced alien race hadn’t figured out paperclips. _Or I antagonize him into it._ He shot Steve a sideways glance. _Come on, even you know masochism is a thing. I just like being hurt. Always have._

Steve frowned at him and crossed his arms over his chest. _Is Loki a sadist?_

 _He’s a sadist in the way most people with power are sadists,_ Clint replied with a shrug. _If you could do anything to someone without repercussions, wouldn’t you?_

 _No,_ Steve said firmly. Clint believed him. 

_That’s the difference,_ Clint shrugged. _Loki has only ever known pain. That’s only changed in the past, what, four years? Five? It’s the only way he knows how to express affection. He’s gotten better at it, but it’s a lot easier to hurt me than it is to tell me that he was worried about me or whatever._

The lock popped open. Huh.

Clint got back on his knees and slowly opened the door. Sadly, there was no sign that said _Power Stone here! You did it guys!_ but there was a Skrull prisoner. 

“Oh,” Clint said out loud. “We’re in the dungeons.”

Good to know. 

Clint tried to bolt, tossing the extremely surprised Skrull the paperclip, but Steve caught his arm and pulled him back. 

“Wait,” the Skrull cried out. “I can help you. If you help the rest of my people escape, I’ll help you find what you’re looking for.” Steve and Clint glanced at each other and then turned to the Skrull, Steve’s hand dropping from his arm.

“We seek an Orb,” Clint said slowly. “Have you seen it?”

The Skrull nodded eagerly. “Two flights up,” they said, and Clint sighed. 

Steve sighed too. “We’ll help,” he told them. “I’m Steve. This is Clint.”

“You seen Midgardians before? Earthlings? Terrans?” Clint asked, and at the last word, the Skrull’s eyes widened and then they nodded. Clint pulled the glamours off him and Steve. “We’re from Terra. Uh, planet C-53. Did the Nova Corps take you folks prisoner?”

The Skrull nodded. “We were only passing through,” they said sadly. “We stopped for fuel and were boarded immediately.” Carefully, they handed Clint back the paperclip like it was a bomb and opened a bag on their belt, pulling out a lock pick that sprung to life when they tapped it. The three of them walked over to the closest door and the Skrull placed the lockpick on the door. “I am called Borin. My compatriots are few, and we travel to where Talos has found refuge.”

 _You know we have to help get them off this planet, right, Cap?_ Clint asked as Borin’s lockpick opened the door and another Skrull came out, wrapping Borin in a massive hug. He waved awkwardly at the Skrull, trying to show they weren’t a threat. _It’ll be easy once we get the Power Stone._

Steve clenched his jaw and nodded. _Of course. We’ll finish our conversation later._

It took Clint a minute to remember that they’d been talking about Steve punching him once they got the Power Stone. _Whatever you say, boss._

Clint stepped up to the Skrull. “I’m Clint, and that’s Steve. We’re gonna help you folks get out of here. Have you seen an Orb, by chance? It should be in some kind of big safe.”

She nodded at him and Borin went to the next door to open it. Clint remembered they had Mjolnir and could probably just bash down the doors, but they didn’t need to draw that much attention. “Nuine,” she said, laying one hand on her chest. “When they brought us in, we passed through a hallway two floors up. Inside one of the doors was an Orb. I hope it is the one you search for.” She gave him a searching look, eyes landing on the Aesir bow on his back. “Is that an Asgardian weapon?” Nuine asked, keeping her voice pleasant and calm. 

Clint nodded, pulling it off his back so she could see it better. Her dark eyes flicked over it and she ducked her chin. 

“Are you Clint of Asgard?” she asked. “Servant to Prince Loki?”

“I sure am,” Clint replied, elbowing Steve in the side. 

Nuine threw herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck, almost sobbing into his chest. “Thank you,” she wept, shoulders trembling. Clint almost dropped his bow in surprise. “They say you are very brave,” Nuine said, stepping back and wiping at her eyes. “We heard tale of your quest to defeat Thanos. If you wish, we will fight with you.”

Clint’s eyes narrowed. “That news travelled all the way to Xandar, huh? Even to prison cells here?” He looked around, trying to feel with his seidr if it was all real or if it was Thanos with the Reality Stone, but there weren’t any edges or distortions. He could transform one of his eyes into a Jotun eye, but it’d take time and effort he didn’t really have. Although, Thanos making up an entire prison row filled with cells on the off chance that Clint or Steve knew what Kree were and would also open the cells? Then again, what was the likelihood of Thanos making up a whole part of Omnipotence City and putting Loki in a cell? Guy was nuts. There was no telling what he’d do. 

“We didn’t hear about it on Xandar,” Nuine told them. “It was before. There is a group of Einherjar and Vanir soldiers and even a fire giant from Muspelheim going from planet to planet to spread news of Thanos’s coming, to warn people of the threat he brings.”

“Where’d you hear about it?” Steve asked.

_Can I use one of your eyes?_

Loki looked up from talking to T’Challa and Shuri and frowned, telling them he needed a moment. _Whatever for?_

_I need a Jotun eye._

“We were taking refuge upon XL9R,” she said, “and we heard them speak of you and Prince Loki, that you were working to save us.”

Loki’s fingers dipped into his mind, brushed seidr along his eyes, and he blinked, and could see the world for what it was.

 _This is real,_ he told Steve, turning away from Nuine to step briefly down the hall to make sure. _There’s heat in all of this. Either Thanos figured out how to add heat to what the Reality Stone creates, or this is real._ Clint blinked and his eyes went back to normal. _Thanks, boss._

_We will find a permanent solution upon your return._

Loki turned back to T’Challa and Clint turned back to Nuine. He smiled at her. “How many are you?”

“We were ten, but they killed three of us.” They looked down the hall at Borin opening the last door, three other Skrull standing behind him, hugging each other. “We have been here less than a week. Others are much less fortunate.” Nuine leaned in close. “Nova Corps slaughter their prisoners after a week.”

Steve turned to Clint, who sighed tremendously. _We don’t have time to dismantle an entire corrupt government,_ Clint reminded him. _We could probably kill some of them, though._

“Who took you prisoner? Do you have any names?” Steve asked her. Nuine shook her head.

“We were blindfolded.”

“Do you have a way off this planet?”

Nuine smiled at him. “We are Skrulls,” she reminded him. “Even if we cannot find a ship, we can make do.”

Clint sighed at her and nodded to Borin when they came back, five Skrulls trailing along behind them. “If you have the coordinates for where you need to go, I can take you there. No ship required.”

“How?” another Skrull asked, this one smaller, probably a child. It was hard to tell ages with aliens. Or humans. Just wasn’t something Clint was particularly good at. 

“I’ll show you after we the Orb,” Clint said. “I’m Clint, by the way, of Asgard. And that’s Steve, of planet C-53. Now, you said you’d seen it.” He turned to Borin, who nodded. Clint tossed Steve a grin and then they followed Borin and Nuine out of the hallway and back up the stairs. 

_Do we have some kind of potion that can make me...less noticeable?_ Steve asked. _You get the Orb, I’m going to go all the way back up to the top and see if I can talk some sense into them._

Clint dug through his pocket dimension and tossed Steve a vial. _Take a couple drops. Each drop lasts for an hour. I hope your version of ‘talking’ is real big hits with Mjolnir._

Steve grinned at him and nodded a goodbye to the Skrulls and vanished. Clint turned his attention to Borin and Nuine. “So, Orb. It’s probably hard to get to, but you have that lockpick little thing. What is that, by the way?”

Borin held it up. “We call it _galla_. This one was given to me by my father. A family heirloom.” They let Clint take it and glance over it. Maybe if he could give Stark a description of it, the guy could make him one.

“It’s so _cute,_ ” Clint gushed, the little galla’s face turning and looking up at him. It reminded him of a grasshopper, with little lockpicking forearms. He handed it back to Borin before he could convince himself to steal it. “What kind of locks can it get through?”

“I have not found anything it couldn’t eventually open,” Borin answered, tucking the galla into a pocket of his shirt. They rounded the last corner of the stairs and the seven Skrulls all changed their faces and outfits into anonymous Nova Corps members. Clint waved a glamour over himself and followed them down the hall. This hall was lined with small, heavily sealed doors, and Borin glanced in a few of them before stopping in front of one and motioning to it.

Clint looked inside. Well, it definitely looked like an Orb. Hopefully it was the right one. Borin brought out the galla again and held it up to the lock. It slid its head and arms inside the lock and Clint could watch it pick locks all day. 

“What’s inside it?” one of the Skrulls asked him.

Clint shrugged at him. “No idea. I was just told to retrieve it.”

An actual Nova Corps officer stopped and asked them what they were doing. One of the Skrulls smiled at her. “Ordered to check all the locks on this floor, ma’am,” she said, motioning to Borin, who gave a lazy wave. The officer gave them all searching looks and then asked for paperwork.

Clint conjured some up and handed it to the nearest Skrull. It probably wouldn’t hold up under intense scrutiny, but it would pass muster for this. Well, he hoped anyway. 

The officer took the papers and frowned down at them, and then nodded and handed them back. “Very well,” she said, and walked off, right as the lock popped open.

Huh. Well then.

Clint reached in and oh boy. Oh yeah. There was definitely an Infinity Stone in there. He wrapped the Orb in a protective cloth and dropped it into a bag of holding inside his pocket dimension. Borin closed the door and the eight of them walked off, quickly making their way out of the Nova Corps headquarters and into the city. The Skrulls changed their faces into anonymous Xandar citizens they passed and the eight of them strolled casually through the streets, talking about their friends and asking Clint questions about Asgard and Loki and Thanos.

_Clint, we gotta get off this planet._

_Yeah, Cap. I’m carrying around a stolen Infinity Stone. I’m not real eager to stay. Oh, and I’ve got seven Skrulls following me around on a planet with a treaty with the Kree. Kinda went easier than I thought it would, actually._

Steve appeared in front of him, the Skrulls all jumping slightly.

“Cap, hey.”

He looked _awful._

“Jesus, did you beat up the whole city? Steve, what did you _do?_ ”

Clint pulled out the Tesseract and took all nine of them to a field far outside the city just as loud alarms started ringing. The Skrulls all defaulted back to their natural forms, grouping together and staring at them. Steve swayed and then sat on the ground. Clint pulled out potions and went to his knees next to Steve. 

_I went through their computers. Well, their version of computers. Took me awhile to figure them out, but that doesn’t matter. They’ve been kidnapping Skrulls and_ selling _them. They sell them to the Kree, who use them for God knows what. So I...well, I got pissed._ He swallowed down more of the heill potion, the scratches on his face fading. _So I looked through their systems and found who signed off on all those sales. They’re_ people, _Clint. And they’re selling them._

_I mean, they’re technically not people, but yeah, they shouldn’t be sold._

Steve glared at him.

_Okay, wrong time to make the distinction that aliens aren’t people! They’re not human, is that better?_

Clint turned to the Skrulls. “Sorry about that, he just needed to beat some people up. It’s kind of his thing. Anyway, where can I take you? Instantaneous travel, anywhere in the galaxy.” Clint held up the Tesseract. 

Borin and Nuine leaned their heads together for a brief moment and then she said, almost too quietly to hear, “Our coordinates were in our ship.”

“Well that’s fine, then,” Clint replied, even though it kind of wasn’t. “How about this: I can take you guys to Earth or Asgard. Sorry, C-53.”

“Asgard,” Borin finally decided. “We have heard...poor things about C-53.”

“Oh, I don’t blame you,” Clint assured them. “Cap, come with us. Asking for sanctuary will look a lot better with you standing next to me.”

Steve groaned and pushed to his feet, finally looking less like he’d been attacked by a bunch of wild cats. He handed Clint the vial back and picked up his shield and Mjolnir. “Ready?”

Clint pulled out the Tesseract and waved all of the Skrulls closer, then activated it. A few of them gasped and then stumbled as they landed in the throne room inside Asgard’s palace.

Balder was sitting on his throne and he jumped and then greeted them with a shout. “Prince! Little Clint! And you brought guests!” He jumped down the stairs and grinned at all of them. “There hasn’t been a Skrull inside Asgards walls in many decades. Of course you would bring seven of them.”

“We ask for sanctuary,” Clint said before any of the Skrulls could say anything. “They are on the run from Kree armies and need somewhere safe to rest.”

Balder paused at the bottom of the steps. “Asking for sanctuary,” he murmured, and then looked to Steve. “Clint, you know this is not something you can ask for. Does the Prince agree?”

“What am I agreeing to, exactly?” Steve said slowly. “And why can’t Clint ask for it?”

Clint sighed.

“Sanctuary is almost exclusively done by royalty,” Balder explained, “and as Clint is property, he cannot ask for it. But if you formally ask me for sanctuary, you are swearing to me that they will be no threat to our citizens. Sanctuary is...sacred, and an ancient practice. You would guard them with your own life. It is tradition that those under sanctuary be guarded by a member of the royal family, and I will take your place, if you can swear upon your life that these Skrulls are no threat to me.”

Steve clenched his jaw and nodded. “Upon my life,” he swore, “they are no threat.”

The seven Skrulls all nodded in agreement. “We just want to stop running,” one of them said, on the verge of begging, and Steve lifted his chin and squared his shoulders and nodded.

“Very well,” Balder said, and held his hand out for Stormbreaker, the axe slapping into his palm. 

_The oath of sanctuary requires blood,_ Clint told Steve, stepping back. _You have to bleed for it._

Steve nodded and glanced back at the Skrulls. _I still think the way you’re treated here is bullshit._

_There’s a lot more important things for you to worry about, trust me._

Balder held out Stormbreaker and Steve cut the inside of his arm on the edge, bleeding out onto the floor. Balder smiled at him and nodded to the Skrulls. “You are now under sanctuary of the King of Asgard,” he told them, and all seven of them relaxed simultaneously. “You will not be harmed here.”

Balder called for servants, who led the Skrulls out of the room.

Steve sighed. “Glad that’s taken care of,” he said, turning to Clint. “You got the Orb, right?”

Clint opened his pocket dimension and pulled it out of the protective bag, tossing the Orb at Steve. Steve quickly figured out how to open it and held the Power Stone in his hand. Balder gasped, moving forward, but Clint shook his head and held up his hand and then winced at the dark look Balder gave him. 

Almost unable to stop himself, Steve grasped the Power Stone in his right fist and purple veins of power raced over his body. He squeezed his eyes shut and bared his teeth, purple flooding his mouth, rippling over his face, down his arms, over his legs, and Steve opened his eyes and roared, staggering forward, and Clint did not hesitate to catch him.

Bright purple eyes landed on him and Steve held him at arm’s length and absolutely punched the hell out of him. Clint soared across the room and slammed into the far wall.

Balder gave him an impressed look and motioned for a servant to go help Clint. They scurried across the room and made sure he wasn’t dead. Clint jumped up to his feet a moment later and let out a loud whoop.

“Do that again!” he called over, fixing his broken jaw with a quick wave of seidr. He sent the servant a frantic thank you and jogged back over. “Cap, holy shit.”

Steve was wreathed in purple flame. He roared again and then his eyes fell on Clint and he staggered. _Clint,_ he whispered, and Clint nodded, moving forward, stretching out a hand. _It’s—it’s too much. I feel like I’m going to peel apart._

 _No, it’s not,_ Clint told him, trying to keep his voice soft. _You can control it. We’ll go talk to Eitri. He’ll held us design something so it’s easier. But you have to stay calm. Punch me again if you want. Hell, even if you don’t want._

Slowly, the purple faded out of Steve’s eyes, the insides of his mouth turning back to normal, the power threads around his arms and legs receding from thick bands of color to thin ones. He took a stagger-step forward and one hand wrapped around Clint’s forearm. “Clint,” he gasped.

“Told you you’d be fine,” Clint said with a grin, Balder calling for a servant to bring in a chair. It was quickly brought in and Steve crumpled onto it, opening his hand to see the Power Stone embedded into his palm, purple lines stretching out from it. “Huh. Well, guess we don’t have to talk to Eitri, then. Seems like that’s not going anywhere.”

“I am very impressed,” Balder announced, moving back to the throne steps and sitting down on one of them, leaning Stormbreaker against his leg. “I was already planning out your funeral, Steve. It was going to be a very sad day, you know.” Steve snorted, eyes locked on the Power Stone. It was firmly under his skin, his skin already healing around it. It seemed the purple threading in a starburst out from it wasn’t going to heal, but at least he wasn’t dead. Or at least the Power Stone hadn’t burnt the serum out of his body. “I was thinking black flowers around the entire kingdom,” Balder mused, resting his chin on his hand as he thought about it. “How long do Midgardians live, anyway? 500 years?”

“Try 75,” Clint piped up, “but they did the eigi bond, so Steve’s lifetime is stretched out closer to Loki’s.”

“75!” Balder exclaimed. “What is even the point of living such a short time! I have taken _naps_ longer than the lifespan of a human.” He shook his head. 

Clint grinned at him, dropping to the floor at Steve’s feet. “You mind if we stay for lunch, Cap? I’m starving, and I bet that Power Stone really took it outta ya.”

Balder surged to his feet. “Let us feast!” he boomed out. Clint pumped a fist and turned his head to grin up at Steve, who rolled his eyes but nodded.

“I could eat,” Steve said, helping Clint to his feet. 

“A celebration!” Balder decided, summoning servants to bring in a table and calling for the chefs to begin cooking. “For the Power Stone!”

Steve looked down at his hand. Clint slipped his fingers over the Power Stone, Steve dragging his eyes up to Clint’s face. Clint smiled at him. _Don’t worry,_ Clint murmured. _You’re still the same man. We’ll have to see how hard you can punch now. Bet you can level a fucking skyscraper._

Steve smiled at him. _Hey, do you think I can fly now?_

Clint motioned wildly to the massive room they were in. _No better place to try!_

It turned out Steve couldn’t fly, but he could project purple beams that could eat through the walls of the throne room, which had Balder both impressed and annoyed. He could also jump a lot higher and run a lot faster and managed to completely disintegrate a conjured punching bag with one punch. Purple strands of power surrounded his legs and arms and curled up around his chest and neck, brightening when he used it and growing a darker purple when the Power Stone was inactive. Clint cheered whenever he did anything, and by the time servants brought in a feast for them, Steve was strutting around and feeling comfortable with being the wielder of an Infinity Stone.

 _Loki will give you better tips on how to master it,_ Clint told him, putting together a massive plate of food for Steve and handing it over to the Captain. Steve sat next to him and motioned for Clint to share with him, which had Balder throwing him an impressed look. _All I know is that the Power Stone basically can fuck up anything and makes the user basically indestructible._ Clint pulled apart a few pieces of meat and chewed thoughtfully on one of them. _Remember when Loki thought that we wouldn’t even be able to wield the Norn Stones? Look at you now, Cap. Hopefully he’ll ask you to punch me. I’m betting you can get me across a football field._

Steve sighed. _Alright, fine. When we get back to your house tonight, after we go to Vormir, if Loki is there to heal you afterwards, I’ll punch you._

Clint grinned at him. _Hell yeah._


	2. chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vormir and the aftermath. Bucky asks for a favor. nsfw content

“Welcome, Steve, son of Sarah, and Clint, son of Edith.”

They’d been on Vormir for three hours when Clint had the idea. He was sitting on a boulder, staring up at the grey sky above, watching Steve pace and try to figure out how to kill the Red Skull. Clint didn’t think they were going to leave until the Red Skull was dead, so Clint had plenty of time to figure it all out.

Around his neck, he wore the golden snake, and clasped in its mouth, Thor’s soul.

“You said a soul for a soul, right?” Clint asked the Keeper.

The Keeper nodded. “You must lose that which you love,” he repeated.

Clint sat down on the ledge overlooking the stone dias at the bottom of the mountain. Very carefully, he unwound the snake from around his neck, took the stone into his hand. With heat, it began to melt, so he set it next to him. Steve sat down next to him, bumped their shoulders together. 

Clint closed his eyes. The Soul Stone required sacrifice. For whatever reason, it needed to be _worth it_. Clint was used to that. So, he imagined he was Loki, which wasn’t difficult. He imagined he was Loki, filled with rage and hunger, a yawning pit ever in his stomach, nothing able to sate it. He imagined he was Loki, young, restless, despised by all of Asgard, always on the run, never good enough. 

But he was good enough for one: Thor. Thor, who was wild and almost feral, who could only be calmed by Loki, who had his own soul bond destroyed to bind him ever tighter to Loki. Thor, who stood between Loki and the rising tide of distrust. Thor, who stood between Loki and everyone else and promised to keep him safe. Thor, who kept his promise.

He remembered being completely alone.

Even their father distrusted him, and their mother cared for him, but there was always something strange in her gaze when she looked at him. All of Asgard, against him.

Except for Thor.

Clint remembered Barney, remembered his own brother, remembered looking up to Barney, even with all his flaws and inconsistencies and causing problem after problem for them. He remembered going to the doctor and being passed a note, he remembered Barney waiting until they were back home, shaking with rage, to punch their father across the face, to punch him until he stopped moving. He remembered running.

_Punches like a truck, my brother,_ Clint remembered saying. Remembered Barney teaching him how to use his own weight and gravity, remembered Barney standing between him and his father and taking the beatings for him. Remembered Barney stealing him his first bow.

He remembered being Loki, before he went to his knees. He remembered being _young_ , with Thor the only light in his life.

_Are you coming with me?_ Thor asked.

_Yes, of course,_ Clint replied, because how could he do anything else, turning to Thor as if he was the sun.

Clint opened his eyes and picked up Thor’s soul. “She said it was a wedding gift,” Clint said with a smile, and he threw it over the ledge.

It took a moment for the storm overhead to begin, as if the Soul Stone was unsure if the sacrifice was worth it, and Clint remembered the way Loki would wake up sometimes, reaching for his brother, the way that, even now, Clint would dream of Thor because Loki dreamt of him, and behind them, the storm surged, and lightning struck down.

He blinked and he was awake in a small pool of water. 

Steve was next to him, waking up at the same time, and Clint slowly pushed himself to his knees, opening his hand to see the Soul Stone in his palm.

“Holy shit, it worked,” Clint gasped out. “I really fuckin’ hated Thor.”

“I’m impressed,” Steve admitted, standing up. “I didn’t think it would be that easy. Did Hela know?”

“I hope not,” Clint mused. “I wouldn’t want to play into her hands like that. But hey, we’ve got five out of the six Infinity Stones. I’d kind of like to see Thanos’s face right about now.”

He turned around, just to make sure Thanos wasn’t behind him. He wasn’t. Kinda would’ve been funny, though. Clint pushed to his feet and looked down at the Soul Stone. It was small, and kind of orange-red, and Clint slid it into his pocket.

“We good here?” he asked Steve, who nodded, and Clint pulled out the Tesseract.

They landed on his porch. Clint shouldered inside to Loki’s rooms and stripped off his gear, laying the Tesseract and the Soul Stone on the coffee table in Loki’s living room. Steve went into the bedroom to shower and change, and he brought out a change of clothes for Clint, who nodded his thanks and put them on. Steve wrapped white cloth around his right hand and the two of them dropped to the couch.

“I really didn’t think it would work,” Clint said, after they’d both been quiet for awhile. Steve nodded in agreement. “But here we are.”

“When is Loki coming back?”

“I’m not his keeper.”

He could _feel_ Steve roll his eyes and Clint turned his head and grinned up at him. 

_Your husband wants to know when you’re gonna be back._

_I will return when I am finished._

“He says he’ll be done when he’s done. You hungry? I’m fucking starving.” Clint jumped to his feet but Steve’s hand around his wrist stopped him.

“We’re going to win,” Steve said, like it had just hit him. “He can’t get any of the Stones. We have all of them.”

“He still has the Reality Stone,” Clint reminded him. “None of the Stones are more powerful than any of the others, but he can shape _reality_. Don’t underestimate him, Cap. We underestimate him and we lose pretty much immediately.”

Steve nodded at him and let his wrist go. Clint moved out of Loki’s rooms and into the kitchen, pausing at when there was no one else in the house. That was suspicious. But then he looked at the calendar and the clock, and oh right, kids were back in school, Laura was probably just picking them up. Not wanting to trust anything, Clint looked around, looking for any seams in the fabric of reality. He didn’t find any; everything was just as he remembered it, but that was just as suspicious.

_I don’t know if this is real,_ he told Loki, and only a minute later, the god was in the kitchen, hands gentle as they helped Clint sit at the kitchen table. Loki slid an ice cube into Clint’s hand and sat next to him as he came back to himself. _I can’t trust anything._

“Steve,” Loki called. “Please bring me the Stones.”

Steve met them in the kitchen just a few minutes later, Loki giving the two of them an impressed look at seeing the Soul Stone. Steve scattered the two of them on the kitchen table and pressed a kiss to Loki’s cheek before sitting across the table from him, resting his right hand on the table, palm up.

Loki smiled at that, leaning over to brush the tips of his fingers over the Power Stone embedding in Steve’s palm. “How very interesting,” he murmured. “I see it did not burn the serum out of you.”

Clint leaned into Loki’s side, closing his eyes. If he couldn’t see anything, it didn’t matter if any of it was real or not, if it was memory or a timeline or some trick of Thanos’. He pulled out his hearing aids and dropped them on the table, snake tightening around his neck, slipping up to rest its head in his hair.

Steve nodded. “It was...it’s difficult to get used to. But it’s getting better.” He grimaced slightly. “We found Skrulls imprisoned on Xandar, brought them to Asgard, and I asked for sanctuary.” Loki raised an eyebrow. “Well, Clint asked for me. What did the Kree do to them?”

“The Kree are a race intent on domination,” Loki replied, a long tendril of seidr moving out of his body and around the kitchen to begin cooking. “There was a planet called Skrullos. It was destroyed when the Kree invaded and the Skrulls resisted their rule. When the Skrulls refused to be dominated, the Kree began a propaganda campaign that painted Skrulls as evil shapeshifters intent on infiltrating and overtaking governments and eventually, entire planets. Many planets, such as Xandar, made peace treaties with the Kree, in order to save their citizens.”

“How does Clint know all that? He knew other names for Earth, knew sanctuary protocol, knew the Power Stone was in an Orb. Did you know they’d heard of him? The Skrulls we found. They’d _heard_ of Clint of Asgard.”

Very slowly, Loki’s other eyebrow rose. “Have I not impressed upon you that Clint knows everything I do? It is entirely possible he knows more. In fact, I would argue he does know far more than I do. How many lives has he lived, Captain? It is also his position to know these things. He would be particularly ineffective if he did not know Asgardian sanctuary requirements and agreements, or even if Skrulls _can_ fall under sanctuary.”

“That’s another thing!” Steve exclaimed, sitting up straight, brandishing a finger. Loki gave him an amused look at the action. “Did you know Balder called him _property?_ Said he couldn’t even ask for sanctuary because he wasn’t _allowed._ ”

“Well, it is usually reserved for royalty.” Loki’s seidr brought over a plate and he pulled apart the bits of meat and nudged at Clint’s consciousness until he opened his eyes and began to feed himself. “I feel as if you imagine Asgard to be working as a democracy, Steve,” Loki said softly. “It is not. A monarchy such as Asgard’s works primarily off a caste system. Clint is treasured, yes, but he is still little more than a pet. It is his position, his lot in life. Is that genuinely so upsetting to you?”

Steve nodded, clenching his jaw, gritting his teeth. “It’s not right,” he said slowly, deeply. “He’s a _person._ ”

“No, I’m not,” Clint spoke up, his voice a bit too high, not looking up from the food. “I’m no more a person than those Skrulls are.”

“They’re people,” Steve spit out, and Loki shook his head. He took back the ear that Clint was using and pressed him back under. 

“They’re just as important as people, yes, but people implies human, and you’re the only human here,” Loki told Steve. “You’re not even of Midgard anymore. You’re Asgardian. You’re a prince now, Steve. Just by marrying me you became more important than any citizen of our realm.”

Steve shook his head, curled his hands into fists. “It’s not right,” he snarled out, and purple strands of power flickered over his hands. “I’m not worth more because you were picked up by Odin. I’m still the same man I was.”

“I was royalty before Odin plucked me out of that temple. Again, there are inevitabilities. However, you are not any different than the man you were seven months ago, Steve. You have merely been elevated.” He ate a bit of meat from Clint’s plate. “You knew this before we were to be wed. If it was so discomfiting, then we should not have wed. Is that what you are telling me?”

“I’m telling you that Clint isn’t property,” Steve growled out. 

“He is a king’s guard,” Loki informed him, keeping his tone mild. “A hirdman. His entire purpose in life is to serve. Others in his position are asked to give up everything I have allowed Clint to keep: a family, a home, his own possessions, hobbies. He is no more his own person than my arm is a person. How is this only an issue now, Steve? Clint has been mine for going on two years now. Are you expecting it to change? That our wedding would change something in both of us and we would walk away from each other?”

Steve looked away from him.

“Ah.” Loki considered it. “You thought that you could take his place.” Steve grit his jaw, slid his hands in his lap. “There is not a place to be taken, Steve,” Loki told him softly. “Clint is where he belongs, as are you.” He paused, thought it over. “You are considering an ultimatum. I would be very, very cautious of making it.”

Steve nodded. Loki’s seidr brought him a plate and he began eating, digging his fingers into the food, not looking up from it. Finally, he said, “I didn’t expect anything to change. I just expected to be able to understand, and I don’t.”

“You will,” Loki assured him. “In time.”

* * *

Loki dropped the Soul Stone and the Tesseract onto the table and took the proffered tea cup, settling across the table from Bruce Banner and Stephen Strange. “Steve also has the Power Stone,” he told them. “Strangely enough, it has embedded itself in his palm and cannot be removed.” Clint dragged over a chair and sat next to Loki, picking up the Tesseract and tossing it up into the air and catching it. 

“So we have five of them,” Stephen mused, setting the Eye of Agamotto on the table as well, keeping the tips of his fingers on the necklace. “Is there any way to counteract the Reality Stone?”

Bruce sighed before Loki could say anything. “Tony and I have been working on a few ways, but nothing concrete. Not yet.”

“We have a way,” Clint volunteered, and motioned at Loki.

Loki looked at Stephen, who looked back. A very long time ago, Loki had sat in this very same chair and had pulled off Odin’s glamour, had looked at this man with red eyes and seen him for who he was. Loki blinked and his eyes were red, and the room lit up. He pulled off a bit more of the glamour, face going blue, and he tugged at his shirt, pulling apart the buttons to show off his chest.

To his surprise, blood rushed into Stephen’s face, to his neck, and when he stood, Loki could see Stephen’s groin was heated. He flicked his gaze over Bruce, who seemed unaffected, and Clint was mostly seidr, and therefore had little to no thermal imaging. 

Loki turned his attention to the room around them. “Reality creates heat,” he told them, “and Thanos cannot create that.” He sat back down, pulled up enough of the glamour that only his red eyes were showing through it. He met Stephen’s gaze again, smiled at him with long, pointed teeth. “If you can find some machinery to replicate this, Doctor, I would be most appreciative.” Clint nodded in agreement.

Bruce pulled out a notebook and pen. “Give me as many details as you can. How can you tell if it’s real or if it's inanimate?”

Loki summoned a book and replicated it, setting both of the books on the table in front of him. Both of them were able to be touched and manipulated, and the duplicate was as legible as the original. Stephen glanced through them and shook his head when he was unable to tell the difference. Loki looked down at them. The duplicate was dark, while the original shone with just the faintest amount of light. “Everything is rotting,” Loki said softly. “Books are rotting, the wood around us is rotting, everything has molecules and just enough latent seidr inside of them to keep them moving. Midgard is covered in leylines, leylines that transfer seidr to everything around them.” He thought carefully about his words. “Midgard has vast amounts of untouched seidr. It is buried, but it still interacts with everything around it. These leylines stretch out for miles. Are you aware that one runs under this building?”

Stephen and Bruce both looked around like they’d be able to see it.

“All of that life is inside every object. Something created with seidr or with the Reality Stone cannot have it. It is, of course, possible that Thanos could unearth this knowledge, somehow give all of his creations a heat signature. I would consider it unlikely. I imagine he will be so incensed and outraged that we have outsmarted him that he will rush to Midgard to attack us.”

“I thought we decided he was going to Asgard first?” Clint spoke up.

Loki shook his head. “There are no more Infinity Stones upon Asgard. We should always presume that Thanos knows as much or more than we do. He also knows I have the Tesseract, and Thanos is fully capable of finding out where I lay my head. We also cannot be certain of how much information Thor gave him. At minimum, we know that Thor showed him past timelines.”

Clint nodded and looked at Stephen. “Is there...I can look back on any of the time loops. Is there any way to see if anyone else has?”

Stephen considered it, frowned a bit, and finally shook his head. “I would need access to the original talismans that bound the spells that created the time loop,” he finally said, “and perhaps access to your mind.”

Loki’s mouth tightened and he shook his head automatically. “We can ask Hjalmar to come to Midgard, or for us to use the Norn Stones, but you are not allowed in Clint’s mind,” he decided, voice tight, and Stephen and Bruce exchanged a look while Clint shrugged. Red eyes flicked to Bruce. “Continue working with Tony on a device to counteract the Reality Stone.” 

“What are you going to do?” Bruce asked.

Loki smiled. “Oh, I have a plan.”

* * *

Clint and Bucky leaned against each other on the couch in Clint’s living room. On the TV were Captain America and Hawkeye, with Scarlet Witch and Vision in the background. The Avengers had been investigating into Power Enterprises and had unearthed a secret HYDRA base in one of their offices. They had taken all of the HYDRA agents into custody with minimal casualties, and Sam was being interviewed by a reporter up on the screen, thumbs slung over his belt in a mimicry of Steve.

Steve and Loki were off doing something in Loki’s rooms, but Clint was managing not to pay attention to either of them. Bucky was getting more used to Sam putting his life at risk but refused to be alone while Sam was away on missions, and he’d moved back into Clint’s house in the meantime. Well, it was his house too, and Clint was happy to see him home.

“Clint?”

“Yeah, Buck?” 

“Can I ask a favor?”

Clint sat up straight, giving Bucky a wary look. The guy had been looking a bit haunted as of late, but Clint had assumed that was nightmares or memories or any of the other dozen things that plagued a man like Bucky Barnes. 

“You wanna give me a hint first?”

Bucky took in a deep breath, dug his fingers into the meat of his thigh, and didn’t look at Clint at all. “Shuri said she got the words out of my head. HYDRA’s words. She says it’s all gone.”

Clint grinned at him, patted him awkwardly on the arm. “That’s great, man! How’s it feel?”

“They wanted to test it,” Bucky told him, turning his head away to gaze forlornly into the distance, not even looking over at the TV when Sam started talking. “I wouldn’t let them.”

Clint opened his mouth but the words refused to come. 

“If I told you the words, would you do it?”

“Why me?”

He’d asked that question so many times it seemed, and the answer was never satisfactory. 

“Because I trust you,” Bucky said, and Clint just sighed and nodded and accepted it would always be his fate to put down those he cared about. “Because if it came down to it, you’d be able to stop me. 

Finally, Clint nodded. “Not now, though,” he decided, saying it on a sigh. “Tomorrow. Before Sam gets back.”

Bucky reached out his hand and clasped Clint’s shoulder. “I can’t ask anyone else,” he said softly. “I couldn’t do that to Sam, and Steve…” Bucky shook his head. “Loki would probably figure out a way to activate me if he could so I can’t ask—”

“Whoa!” Clint interjected, leaning away from Bucky and putting his hands up. “I get he’s changed, that the curse potion kinda fucked him up, but Loki wouldn’t activate you. Jesus Christ, Barnes, if he wanted to, he would’ve done it when he dragged you to that apartment.” Clint shook his head. “I’m not gonna—Jesus, Barnes. I get the guy’s an asshole but he wouldn’t activate you. He respected your wishes not to go into your mind for _years_ , Buck, and only broke that when you were activated by someone else so he could figure out how to fucking stop you from killing everyone.”

Bucky grimaced. “Clint…”

“Look, I get it, man, and I’ll do whatever you want, but I wouldn’t be who I am if I let you go on thinking that about him.” Clint shook his head. “We’ll do it tomorrow, after breakfast. Go out in the woods and I’ll say the words and take you down if I need to.” Clint turned back to the TV and squinted at the subtitles. 

“Thank you,” Bucky murmured, reaching over to grab Clint’s hand. “I’d apologize but I don’t really think it’s worth much.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Clint told him, moving around on the couch until his head was in Bucky’s lap, hand twisted up over his shoulder so Bucky could keep holding it. “Sam looks good in that uniform, man. He fuck you in it yet?”

Bucky threw his head back and laughed. “What’s the amendment where I don’t have to incriminate myself?”

“How the hell would I know? Weren’t you at the signing of the Declaration of independence?”

“No, that was Steve. Did they put amendments into the Declaration?”

“I feel like we should know this,” Clint mused. “You’re dating Captain America, shouldn’t you know these things? What if a reporter asks you?”

“I’ll make something up.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know until I get asked, would I?”

“How are you gonna make anything up if you don’t practice first?”

“Why would I make up anything beforehand? Isn’t that the opposite of making—”

“Has anyone threatened to kill either of you?” Laura asked from behind the couch. “I’m sincerely considering it.”

“You should’ve gone for it before telling us you were there,” Clint told her, waving her closer with his free hand. Laura sighed at him and leaned over the back of the couch to kiss him on the cheek. She straightened up and Clint beamed at her. “Not many people can sneak up on an ex-Avenger and an ex-assassin.”

“I’ll put it in my resume,” Laura drawled, moving back into the kitchen. “You two thirsty?”

“Beer!” Clint yelled. “I need a beer.”

“Loki said you’re only allowed alcohol on Fridays,” Laura called back. “Barnes, you want anything?”

“A beer, if you don’t mind,” Bucky told her over Clint’s groans.

“I don’t even know what day it is,” Clint grumbled, “how am I supposed to know when Friday comes around?”

“I think it’s Monday,” Bucky replied with a frown. “Starkphone, what day is it?”

“Thursday, Mr. Barnes,” a tinny voice piped up from Bucky’s pocket.

“Jesus,” Clint muttered. “We both fuckin’ suck.”

They both burst into laughter as Laura came back with a couple beers and a soda for Clint. Clint sat up and Laura curled up between him and the arm of the couch, Clint sliding an arm over her shoulders. Bucky released his hand and took the beer Laura handed over, leaning heavily into Clint’s side.

“Where’s your kids?” Bucky asked.

Laura shot him an amused look. “It’s almost 10pm. They’re all asleep.”

That made sense. Bucky just nodded. He wasn’t entirely sure what time kids went to bed. He sipped his beer and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and leaned his cheek against Clint’s shoulder. 

There was a small flutter as an envelope was pushed under the front door, but Bucky wasn’t awake to hear it.

* * *

_Arguably, I should go with you,_ Loki pointed out, leaning into Clint’s touch as he brushed the god’s hair. _If the Soldier could still be activated..._ he trailed off as Steve stepped out of the shower, toweling off his hair, naked and shimmering with water. Loki smiled at his husband.

“You can’t warn me he’s gonna be here?” Steve muttered, hastily covering himself and wrapping the wet towel around his waist. 

“You once tried to get in the shower with me,” Clint reminded him, pointing at Steve in the mirror with Loki’s hairbrush. “Didn’t have a problem with me seeing your dick then, Cap.”

“I was under the influence of an incomplete soulbond,” Steve grumbled, good-naturedly rolling his eyes at Clint. “Did you say something about the Soldier, Loki?”

“I was talking to Clint,” Loki told him, motioning for Clint to continue brushing his hair. “Bucky believes Shuri has completely removed the activation words from Bucky’s mind. He refuses to let me in his mind to confirm this, so Clint is going to attempt to activate the Winter Soldier.”

“You know Buck didn’t want Steve to know about this, right? Like he made that pretty clear.”

“I was unaware Bucky is in this room with us,” Loki replied mildly, and Clint tugged at his hair. They both looked to see Steve sit on the stool next to the tub and put his head in his hands.

“Why didn’t he ask me?” Steve asked quietly, distraught.

Loki handed Clint a container of oil and Clint warmed some up in his hands before gently spreading it through Loki’s hair. Loki didn’t say anything, so Clint spoke up, “Cap, it’s not about you. It’s about what Buck is comfortable with. He...he was safe here, for a long time. Safe like I don’t think he’s felt before. I’m tied to that. So don’t take it personal.”

Steve dropped his hands and looked up at Clint through his lashes, brow furrowed. “He’s my best friend,” Steve rasped. “I can keep him safe.”

“He fell,” Clint told him gently, meeting Steve’s gaze in the mirror. “He fell and they caught him. Steve, for all you’ve been through, you’ve never been unmade. You’ve always been Steve Rogers. I know how it is to be little more than a grenade someone sets off at a target they want to hit.” Quick fingers pulled Loki’s hair into a braid along the back of his head, Loki’s eyes fluttering shut as he leaned into Clint’s touch. “If Bucky wants me to be the one to do it, I’m gonna do it. If he asks for something, he gets it.” Clint shrugged.

Steve let out a great sigh, scrubbed his hands through his hair. He shook his head. “I should go with you,” he decided, but Clint shook his head.

“Using a veto,” he announced. “On both of you. Neither of you gets to come with. Buck and I go into the woods alone. I’ll take him to another planet if I have to.”

Loki’s eyes opened and he met Steve’s distraught look in the mirror, and Loki smiled. “I’ll keep you entertained, Steve,” he promised. “We have potions we have not yet experimented with.”

Clint rolled his eyes and tied Loki’s hair up with a bit of seidr. He’d given him a crown, braided in a circle atop his head. Loki patted his hand and pushed to his feet, Clint moving out of the bathroom to gather the clothes Loki wanted to wear, overhearing Steve mutter something about Bucky.

“He used a veto,” Loki reminded Steve. “He gets particularly upset if you go against a veto. I’ve learned it’s not worth the effort.”

“Can’t you just order him to let me?” Steve grumbled.

“Not after he’s used a veto,” Loki pointed out. Clint came back into the bathroom after laying out Loki’s clothes on the bed and Loki followed him out, Steve letting out an aggrieved groan and then following them. He stood in the doorway, damp towel around his waist, arms crossed over his chest, watching Clint undress Loki out of his pyjamas and into more formal wear.

“You’re going somewhere,” Steve said slowly, eyebrows drawing together. “What about the potions?”

Clint paused as Loki paused, Clint settling on the ground at Loki’s feet, both of them turning their heads in sync to look at Steve. Loki smiled at him, a bit patronizingly. “You will be taking the potions, Steve,” Loki told him. “I will be watching.”

“And that’s my cue,” Clint said, helping Loki into his tunic and doing up the buttons along the side. “You boys have fun!” He gave them a jaunty wave and moved quickly out of Loki’s rooms, kicking the doors shut behind him.

Bucky was in the kitchen, frowning down at a letter. “You writing love notes to Sam?” Clint asked, walking over to the coffee maker and picking up the carafe and drinking straight out of it. “He’s so gone for you he’d probably awooga over a nice text.”

“Awooga?” Bucky asked mildly. “Why do I feel like you make stuff up sometimes?” He held up the letter. “You probably want to read this.”

“Because I do,” Clint assured him, taking the letter Bucky handed back to him. “You really think people eat rice and mashed potatoes mixed together? The texture alone should’ve tipped you off. You know how much starch that is, Barnes? It’d kill a person without that serum.”

“Hold on, that’s not a thing?” Bucky asked, but Clint wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were glued to the signed name at the bottom.

Swordsman.

What the fuck.

How was that guy still even alive? He’d been old when Clint was a kid. 

He thought about Barney, about Barney owing someone a shit-ton of money, thought about how they’d promised to drop his debt if they got pictures of Loki. He remembered the hidden cellphone he had under the floorboards, about the two numbers programmed into it. He thought about the way the Swordsman used to watch him, used to tell him how talented he was, how Clint was his best pupil. He thought about how Barney hadn’t even thanked him for Clint giving him money.

Oh, he was gonna fuckin’ kill him.

He crumpled up the letter and threw it in the trash without reading a word. He downed the rest of the coffee and shook his head at Bucky’s questioning look, then they both left the house, heading towards the barn. 

Clint shoved open the barn doors and left Bucky standing in the doorway as he picked up his Aesir bow and quiver, and then thought about it, and put a handgun around his ankle and the ruby-hilted knife appeared in his hand, and he hung that around his waist as well.

“You think you need all that?” Bucky asked with a small curl of his lips.

Clint snorted at him, slinging his bow over his shoulder and the quiver over his back. “We could make it even,” he offered up, walking out of the barn, Bucky following behind him, “I could tie my arm behind my back. Hell, I’ll tie a leg up too. Give you a chance.”

Bucky’s hand caught Clint’s wrist as they stepped into the forest. Clint stopped and looked back at him.

“If it doesn’t work,” Bucky started quietly, eyes locked on the ground, fighting with something in himself, “I’ve been...fragmented for too long. The Soldier was always more reliable when they’d erased me, put me in the Chair.” He shivered. Clint turned completely to face him. “If the Soldier is still in there, I don’t know what it’s going to do. It’ll probably try to kill you. Clint, if I, if the Soldier, comes after you, I need you to put me down. In the dirt.”

“Bucky,” Clint began, and then stopped himself, tried to formulate his thoughts. “I don’t think the Soldier is ever going to leave you. Whatever HYDRA did to you, they created a new part of you. I know you still wake up sometimes not knowing how to breathe without someone telling you to.” Bucky started and took a step back but Clint wouldn’t let him. “You want me to kill you, fine. You want me to put you in the ground, fine. I’ll kill you and I’ll walk back to the house and tell Steve and Loki and call Sam and say Shuri’s machine must’ve failed. But you have to say the words, Buck.”

Bucky searched his gaze, almost desperate. “I feel like a burden,” Bucky whispered. “Steve has Loki, Sam is Captain America, I’m just...I feel like I’m holding him back.”

“Back from what?” Clint asked gently.

Bucky ducked his chin. “When we went to go see Becca, I remembered that I’m as old as she is. I feel _ancient_ , like a great, lumbering beast that’s just one step away from walking off a cliff. He says he loves me but how long can that last?” Bucky tore away from him and paced in rapid, short strides in front of Clint, who crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, eyes narrowing as they tracked Bucky’s frenetic path. “Sam’s _Captain America_ now. How’s he going to go save the world and come home to _me?_ ”

“He used to save the world as Falcon and still come back to you,” Clint said slowly. “He’s not any different now that he has the shield.”

“That’s just it!” Bucky exclaimed, throwing up his hand and then running it through his hair. He snarled at Clint, who raised an eyebrow at him. “I wasn’t _good enough_ for the shield. He’s going to realize that one day I’m not good enough for _him._ ”

“There was no measure of good,” Clint emphasized. “It was only a measure of will. You didn’t want it, Buck. You don’t want to fight anymore. That’s why you’ve stayed back through all these battles, because we promised you that you didn’t have to fight.” He sighed and shook his head. “Bucky, you need to talk to Sam. You need to tell him all this. He’ll listen. Now, do you really need me to read the words or was this just some sort of way to get me to kill you?”

Bucky glared at him and then took a small piece of paper out of his pocket and threw it at Clint, and then they both watched it fall to the ground. Clint snorted and moved forward to pick it up.

“This is all in Russian,” he said, unfolding the paper, eyes scanning over the ten words. “Anyway, you ready?”

Bucky took in a deep breath and grit his teeth and lifted his chin.

Well, good enough.

Clint began to speak, watching as Bucky grew paler and more horrified with every word, but as he spoke the last, dropping the list to the ground and putting his hand on his bow, nothing happened.

“Offer’s still on the table,” Clint said mildly, smirking when shocked blue eyes flickered over to him. “Guess her machine worked after all, huh?”

Bucky took a staggered step forward and Clint caught him, wrapped his arms around Bucky’s waist as Bucky pressed his face to Clint’s neck, fingers caught on Clint’s shirt.

“He’s gone,” Bucky whispered. “He’s out of my head.”

“Now you’re calling the Soldier a he?”

“Not him,” Bucky breathed, voice growing dark. “Pierce. I can’t hear him anymore.”

Clint didn’t know what to say to that, didn’t know if there was anything to say. So he just let Bucky breathe into his neck until the poor guy got a hold of himself and then Clint slung an arm around his waist and they walked out of the woods together.

“Make sure you talk to Sam,” Clint said warningly. “Or I’ll talk to him for you and I can promise you that you won’t like that.”

“Does anyone like talking to you?” Bucky teased, looking suddenly like a heavy weight had lifted from his shoulders. 

“Laura does,” Clint mused. “She’s been married to me for this long.”

“You sure you’re the deaf one?”

“Hey!” Clint laughed, waving at Sam, who was sitting on the porch of his house, clearly impatiently waiting for them. “Looks like he’s waiting for you. You want any help?”

Bucky looked like he wanted to say yes but shook his head instead, stepping away from Clint as they walked slowly towards the house. “No,” he said quietly, suddenly getting serious. “I don’t know what’s going on with me, but he’ll at least listen.”

“Sam’s good people,” Clint told him. “Don’t you dare tell him I said that, though.”

“Don’t worry,” Bucky said with a smile. “He wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

* * *

Steve turned to look at Loki as Clint left his rooms, doors shutting behind him. “I’m taking the potions?” Steve asked with a bit of a smile. “I like the sound of that.”

Loki nodded at him and finished buckling up his boots and straightening out his tunic. It was a deep royal blue today, almost the color of his Jotun skin, with emerald decorative stitching and a bit of lace around the edges. “I’ve been thinking about something for awhile,” Loki told him, summoning his jewelry box and picking through it. “You enjoy control. I enjoy giving it.” He held up a thick golden ring and smiled at Steve through it. “I also want to take it.”

Steve shivered. “Alright,” he agreed, hearing the breathiness in his own voice and flushing a little at it. “What do I need to do?”

“Get a fresh towel and put it on the couch. Lay yourself on top of it. Put your hands behind your head and wait. Do not touch yourself.”

Steve nodded and rushed into the bathroom, nearly tripping over his own feet. He grabbed another towel and burst into the bedroom and then stormed into the living room to do as Loki asked. 

Loki finished his outfit with a small gold chain around his neck and sent his jewelry box away. He opened his pocket dimension and pulled out a small bag of potions. After double-checking that he was suitably dressed, Loki walked into the living room and settled himself in the armchair, eyes growing dark and deep as he looked at Steve stretched out on the couch for him, miles of golden skin and muscles. Just for him, Loki thought smugly. All his. Steve was half-hard, dick heavy on his thigh, and Loki’s mouth watered at the sight. 

_Open your mouth,_ Loki ordered, pulling out a vial of red potion. _You will only be taking this potion. I will start with one drop and add another drop every five minutes._ Green seidr stretched out to trace over Steve’s open mouth, dipped inside to touch over his tongue, and then deposited a single drop of red potion on Steve’s tongue. 

Loki leaned forward as Steve gasped and arched up, cock pointing up straight in the air, hands coming down to grab into the couch. 

_What—what is that?_ Steve asked around a gasp, sounding almost panicked. 

_An energizing potion,_ Loki replied, smiling as pre-come began to bead at the tip of Steve’s dick. _It seems to have an interesting effect on humans._

_This is just one drop!?_

Loki sat back in his chair and crossed his legs, clasping his hands in his lap. Steve moaned and planted and squirmed as the potion worked its way through him, his skin going dark and ruddy, sweat beading on his brow. He looked delicious. 

_I need your mouth,_ Steve whined, fingers ripping into the couch cushions. His hips pulsed and Loki tsk’ed at him. _Loki, love, please. Your mouth._

_As much as my mouth waters for your cock, that is not the goal of this endeavor,_ Loki replied, a bit regretfully. He had an ache in his throat that could only be soothed by a good stretching around Steve’s length. _When you come all over yourself, I will lick it up._

Steve’s hips pulsed again and more pre-come slid down his cock. Loki’s seidr slid another tendril into his mouth, depositing another drop of the red potion on his tongue. 

“Oh fuck,” Steve said aloud, and started to shiver, eyes locked on the ceiling. The muscles in his stomach clenched and Loki raised his eyebrows as every muscle in Steve’s body was thrown into stark relief. 

“What does it feel like?” Loki asked. 

“Like every orgasm I’ve ever had, all at once,” Steve grit out through clenched teeth. “Except instead of just in my dick, it’s everywhere.”

Loki smiled, just a bit. “Do you feel out of control?”

With that, purple tendrils wrapping around his right hand, Steve’s hips jerked and he came in long spurts over his chest. He shuddered and fell limp, blue eyes falling to Loki. 

“You made it eight minutes,” Loki informed him, moving off his armchair to pin Steve down to the couch with his hands on his shoulders. A quick brush of seidr had the remnants of the potion burnt out, and Steve sighed in relief. Loki pressed his mouth to Steve’s chest, licking up the rapidly cooling semen, nuzzling Steve’s nipples and laving over the sweat collecting in the hollow of his collarbones. 

“Where are you going?” Steve asked, brushing the tips of his fingers over Loki’s hair once he was licked clean and Loki released him, kneeling at Steve’s side. “Your hair is pretty like that.”

“To Asgard, and then to Helheim. I am going to check in on your Skrulls and see that they are being well-kept, and then I have a deal to make with Hela.”

“Will she take it?”

Loki rested his sharp chin on Steve’s stomach and gave a lazy shrug. “There is nothing I have after this to offer her. Or, I have nothing else I am willing to give.”

“What does she want?”

Green eyes flicked up to Steve’s face. “She would take all that I hold dear,” Loki said quietly. “She would rend me in two and take everything from me, all for the joy of it.” He turned around, settling on the floor, leaning his head back against Steve’s bare hip. “I understand the appeal, of course,” Loki mused. “Although it is surely strange to be on the other end of such schemes.”

Steve stiffened and sat up. “Are you...when are you going back to the Sanctum?”

Loki raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change of topic but shrugged one shoulder. “Soon,” he said. “Clint has a theory about the spells Thor used to create the time loop. Given that Stephen is the Sorcerer Supreme, there is none more knowledgeable about time.”

Steve nodded, although he looked like he didn’t want to. “I want to go with,” he decided. “I don’t want you going there alone.”

“Pardon me?” Loki turned around and looked up at Steve, a peculiar set to his jaw. 

“You heard me,” Steve said, pushing to his feet and wrapping the towel from the couch back around his waist. “If you go to the Sanctum, I’m going with.”

“For whatever reason?”

Steve grit his teeth. “Because I think you’re still in love with Stephen Strange and I’m not going to let you go back to him.”

“ _Let_ me?” Loki repeated, standing up and following Steve into the bedroom. “I was unaware I was in love with anyone besides you, Captain.”

Steve yanked a shirt over his head and tore the collar as he did, not looking back at Loki, who was standing uncomfortably in the doorway. “Hjalmar said you still had a tie to Stephen in your soul, and when you brought it up at our wedding, I _saw_. There was orange in your soul, hidden away in there.” He pulled on a pair of boxer briefs and turned back to Loki, purple tendrils curling around his right fist. “I told you, whatever it means, you’re _mine_. He doesn’t get to take you, and you don’t get to go to him.”

“I fear you have me mistaken for someone who wishes for the attentions of another man.”

“I think you’re greedy,” Steve said, glaring across the bedroom. “I think you’re going to flirt with Stephen just for the attention. I also think that I know you well enough to know you’re going to do that, and I know you well enough that if I tell you not to, it’s just going to make you want to do it more.” Loki turned his head away. “Even you wouldn’t cheat on me. You didn’t put fidelity clauses in our bonds because you wanted to make that promise again every day. I also think you’re being pulled to him and you don’t know how to stop.”

Loki physically turned away from Steve and shook his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts of Stephen’s lips on his, Stephen’s long fingers around his wrists, Stephen’s mouth against his ear. “I mean to speak to Hjalmar about it,” he said finally, uneasily.

“You think he’s going to do anything to your soul without me there?”

Loki grimaced slightly. “There is no harm in speaking,” he said stiffly. “Very well, Captain, as you wish. I will not be guest at the Sanctum alone.”

“No,” Steve replied, and Loki turned his head back to look at him. “You don’t go there without _me_. You’d go around that by taking Clint, and you can convince him and make him do anything you want. Whenever you go there, so do I. You can talk to Hjalmar about the bond, but nothing is to be done about it until I approve.”

“You always did enjoy control,” Loki mused thoughtfully, watching as Steve picked out a pair of pants. “I merely thought it would take longer until you began to restrict my movements and who I spend my time with.”

“You can twist my words however you want,” Steve said mildly, placidly, and pulled on a pair of socks. “I’m telling you that I’m uncomfortable with something you’re doing and giving you a way to remedy that.”

Loki’s mouth pursed. “Very well,” he hedged, and Steve sighed at him, sliding a belt through the loops on his pants. 

“I get that we’re not the healthiest couple out there,” Steve said, almost regretfully. “We rushed a lot of it, neither of us are very emotionally healthy, our power dynamics are pretty messed up, but I love you, Loki. I feel like I’m...like I’m your abusive boyfriend trying to get you to come back after I hit you, and I know I’m doing this wrong, but I promise I’m trying. I’m not good at this.”

Loki moved forward and took Steve’s jaw in his hands, looked slowly over his beloved face, those kind eyes, the strong jaw. “I love you,” he told Steve forcefully. “I married _you_ , Steve. I promised Stephen fifty years, but I promised you the rest of my life.” He dropped his hands from Steve’s face, ran the tips of his fingers over Steve’s cheeks, his forehead, the length of his nose, his full lips. “I warned you I was difficult.”

Steve leaned forward, pressed their foreheads together, closed his eyes. “I knew you before you knew me,” he said softly, breath puffing out over Loki’s mouth. “I loved you then and I love you now. I wish I was better at it.”

“I have no complaints,” Loki murmured, and brushed their mouths together. “I will do as you wish, my Captain.” He turned his head and frowned. “Sam just came through the portal.”

“Loki? Cap?” Sam called. “Y’all presentable?”

“One minute,” Loki called back, seidr pushing the bedroom door shut. He looked back at Steve and smiled at him. He tried to press every emotion he was feeling at Steve, who nodded and pressed another kiss to his mouth. “I apologize for worrying you.”

“No need to apologize,” Steve replied, and he stepped back from Loki and looked around for his shoes. He snorted. “We have a telepathy bond and we’re still bad at communication.”

Loki opened the bedroom door and said back over his shoulder, “It is lucky, then, that we have so much time to work on it.” He turned his attention to Sam. “Sam, welcome. Bucky and Clint are outside. Perhaps you would like to wait on the porch?”

“Sure,” Sam said, and followed Loki out of his rooms. “Hey, is Bucky doing okay? He’s been down lately.”

“Down where?”

“ _Loki._ ”

“Clint reports he has been a bit depressed,” Loki replied with a put-upon sigh. He and Sam paused in the kitchen. “He asked Clint to kill him if the Winter Soldier was still present within his mind.” He looked across the kitchen to see Sam stagger and catch himself on the back of a kitchen chair. “I see you were unaware of this.”

“Sam, hey,” Steve said, coming out of Loki’s rooms, pausing at seeing the distraught look on Sam’s face. Steve immediately stepped up next to him, putting a hand on Sam’s back. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I informed Sam of Bucky’s wishes,” Loki said as he started the coffee maker. “It seems Bucky did not tell him his plans for today.”

“What did he _do?_ ” Sam grit out. 

Loki let out a sharp breath and turned on them, spitting out the words with a frown, “Bucky requested that Clint attempt to activate the Winter Soldier to see if Shuri’s machine worked, and to, quote, ‘put him in the ground’ if he was activated.”

“Fuck,” Sam breathed, crashing down to sit at the kitchen table and put his head in his hands. “What the hell? When did this happen?”

“It is currently happening,” Loki supplied, taking three mugs out of the cabinet and pouring them all coffee. Seidr floated two mugs over to Sam and Steve, and then Loki joined them at the table. Sam sent him a distraught look. Loki reached out and gently patted the back of Sam’s hand. “He will be fine,” Loki said, rather unconvincingly. Steve sent him a mild glare and Loki restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “Clint is with him.”

Sam put his head in his hands. “That’s worse than if he was with Steve,” he muttered.

“Hey now,” Steve said mildly, and then thought about it and gave a reluctant shrug.

“I gave Shuri all she needs to remove the activation words from Bucky’s mind,” Loki informed Sam. “She is quite intelligent. There is no reason to believe that she would not be successful.”

Sam sighed. “I don’t—that’s not what I care about. I _care_ that my fucking boyfriend is suicidal and didn’t think to tell me!” He shoved to his feet and glared at the both of them. “You said he’s outside?”

“Out front, I believe,” Loki replied mildly. They both watched as Sam stalked outside, slamming the front door behind him. “He seemed rather bothered,” he remarked.

“Should I go with?” Steve asked, brow furrowed, leaning over to watch Sam pace on the front porch. 

“I believe this is something he should do alone,” Loki told him, sipping at his coffee. He grimaced and conjured chocolate to stir in. “Do you wish to go with us today?”

Steve sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. “I feel like I should stay here,” he breathed out. “But I also think that means I shouldn’t. Bucky isn’t my responsibility anymore. He’s Sam’s.”

Loki held up one finger. “One could argue he is his own responsibility.”

“Good point,” Steve said with a tired chuckle. He dropped his hands to the table and looked at the Power Stone in the palm of his hand. “Sometimes when I look at him, all I can remember is being a kid and looking up at Bucky like he hung the moon. Sometimes I forget we’re not kids anymore.”

“You are both capable of taking care of yourselves,” Loki pointed out, resting his chin in his hand and looking at Steve. “Is it painful that he no longer needs you?”

Steve flinched and nodded. “He was always looking out for me, you know. I just wanted to return the favor.”

Loki took a sip of coffee and then rested the cup on the table and took Steve’s hand in his own, curling their fingers together. “You have,” Loki quietly assured him. “We saved him, you know. He is alive because of you, Steve. Eventually, HYDRA would have killed him, either through negligence or because they no longer had use for him. If there is any comfort to be taken, then take it from that.”

Clint banged in through the front door and sent the two of them an awkward wave. He joined them in the kitchen and got himself a glass of water before sitting next to Loki at the table. 

“Did you kill him?” Loki asked. Steve groaned and dropped his head to his hands.

“Nope,” Clint replied cheerfully, swiping Steve’s coffee. “Shuri’s machine worked. We headed out soon?”

“Yes,” Loki replied, finishing his coffee and sending the mug to the sink. “Steve, you will have to change.” He motioned at Clint, who nodded and jumped back up to his feet and led Steve back to Loki’s rooms. Loki deliberated for a moment and then stood and walked out the front door, meeting Sam and Bucky on the porch. They were sitting on the porch swing, heads tilted together, Bucky’s hand wrapped in both of Sam’s.

“Gentlemen,” Loki greeted, leaning against the porch railing. He looked at Bucky, who was teary-eyed, hair hanging in his face. “I see you survived.”

Bucky nodded slowly, ducking his chin. He looked on the verge of asking Loki to leave and then reconsidered it. “Have you ever been suicidal, Loki?”

Loki tapped his chin as he thought. “Of course,” he replied. “With a brother such as Thor, one could argue that it would be harder to _not_ want to die, or to attempt to take your own life. I attempted to take my own life many times.”

“How did you—what’d you do to get better?”

Loki considered it, thought about where he was in life now and where he had been only a few years ago. He remembered being a desperate creature, binding himself to Thor only to rip them away, remembered sitting on the Isle of Silence and wondering if it would truly be so difficult to stay there. He remembered trying to die, over and over again. He wondered how easy it would be to slip back into that mindset, just how truly far he was from taking his own life. “I believe there is no getting better,” Loki finally said, looking up to see Steve and Clint watching from the open windows behind the porch swing. “I believe there is only living with it. I believe it becomes easier, with time, and that it fades. But you cannot get there without strength.” Loki motioned to Sam, who was nodding slightly. “Bucky, you must rise up. You have lived through far worse than this.”

Bucky swallowed thickly and ducked his chin. “Before they figured out the Chair and how to wipe me properly, they’d put me in cryo and I’d wake up with them experimenting on me. Sometimes they’d put me in a cell and leave me there for days without food or water. One time, I managed to get a plate of metal off my arm and cut my wrist with it. It kept healing, so I kept cutting.” He took in a deep, shaky breath. “I wish I didn’t remember any of it.”

Sam was crying, but he just pulled Bucky in for a hug, cradling the back of Bucky’s head in one of his hands. “I’m sorry,” he said through a restrained sob, swallowing his tears back. “I’m so sorry. I just wish you’d told me.”

“I couldn’t,” Bucky said firmly, still quiet, curling his fingers into Sam’s shirt. “You’re busy. Busy with things a lot more important than me.”

Sam pulled back, slid a hand over Bucky’s jaw, tilted his head up. “Look at me,” Sam ordered. “I know I’ve been busy. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, babe. I promise you’re it for me, okay? Nothing comes before you. I’ll put down the shield, alright, I’ll hang up the wings, I just need you to be okay. Whatever this is, whatever the problem is, we’ll fix it.”

“You don’t have to give anything up,” Bucky promised him, leaning forward to give Sam a kiss. “I just...I just need to talk to you.”

“You mind if we use your rooms, Loki?” Sam asked, not looking away from Bucky. “Would like some privacy.”

“Of course,” Loki drawled, motioning dramatically to the door. “What’s mine is yours.”

Sam didn’t remark on that, which was smart. Loki watched as Bucky and Sam, leaning on each other, went into the house, and a moment later, Steve and Clint came out.

“How very interesting,” Loki mused, looking at the two of them. Steve was dressed in more formal Aesir attire, a blue tunic with a low collar that opened down to his collarbones and covered his wrists. His pants were dark silver and made of shimmering scales, and he wore low-heeled boots that went up to his knees. He had Mjolnir on his belt. He looked wholly uncomfortable. “Are we ready?”

They both nodded and Clint pulled out the Tesseract. He activated it and the three of them landed in the Bifrost Observatory, Heimdall inclining his head in welcome. “The King awaits,” Heimdall boomed, and Loki thanked him, walking quickly out of the Observatory, Clint and Steve following behind him. 

_So, Skrulls first?_ Clint asked, easily keeping up with Loki’s long strides. He put away the Tesseract and slung his hands in his pockets as he followed Loki. He sent a glance to Steve, who still looked troubled. _Sam will take care of him, Cap. This is your job now._

Steve nodded and smoothed his face over, sending Clint an amused look. _My job is looking at Loki’s ass?_

Clint grinned at him. _Hey, someone’s gotta do it! A job’s a job, man._

Loki sent them a disgruntled look and conjured a cape, the hem flowing out from his shoulders, obscuring what Steve had been watching. Clint elbowed Steve in the side and Steve snorted, turned his head, looked out over the great waters, the sparkling stars, the glimmer of the Isle of Silence in the distance. Steve slowed to a stop and looked out over all of it, taking it all in.

Clint stopped next to him. _Incredible, isn’t it?_

_This is all mine,_ Steve said slowly, a note of realization in his voice. _I’m a Prince. Of Asgard. Me, of all people._

Clint nodded. They stood there for a minute, Steve still in awe, and then Clint tugged at his tunic. _We should go. Loki will be mad if we’re too far behind._

Steve turned his head to look down the Bifrost, where Loki was still striding towards the palace, glittering gold and off in the distance. He took in the sights one last time and then began walking again, Clint at his side, off to his destiny.


	3. chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Change comes to Asgard.

_What was it like for you when you came to Asgard the first time?_ Steve asked Clint as they entered the palace doors, Einherjar bowing their heads to him. _I know you already had all his memories, but was it any different to see it in person?_

Clint considered it. _Yeah, probably,_ he replied. _The first time I was here, I didn’t really have a chance to look around. Still impressed me. But there’s been a few times where Loki and I have just sat on the Bifrost and looked out over the stars. That’s the best way to see Asgard, I think. You can only see so much from the palace._

Steve nodded. _We’ll have to do that sometime._

Loki was waiting for them at the top of the stairs to the throne room, speaking quietly with a servant, hands clasped behind his back. He’d gotten rid of the cape and Clint elbowed Steve in the side and waggled his eyebrows at him. The servant nodded and scuttled away as Steve and Clint crested the stairs.

Loki inclined his head to them and motioned for the Einherjar to open the doors. Clint put Steve at Loki’s left hand and he hung back a step at Loki’s right hand, and followed them in. Balder joyfully called them into an antechamber, where the Skrulls were gathered around a massive table laden with a feast. Clint introduced Loki to them and then began filling up two plates for him and Steve. Loki spoke with Balder while Steve sat at the table. Clint brought Steve his plate and then went over to Loki, holding the plate out for him.

“And you say he asked Clint to kill him?” Balder queried, motioning for Clint to bring the plate closer to him. Loki nodded. “How peculiar,” Balder mused. “Perhaps he should speak to Eir. You could ask her to go to Midgard.”

Loki considered that, popping a grape in his mouth. “Clint?” he asked. “Would Eir be helpful?”

“Probably not,” Clint offered up. “Buck’s not gonna talk to anyone he doesn’t know. When we go back, I’ll talk to him. But he’s got Sam, who would figure out how to spin Earth the other way if Bucky asked. So I think he’ll make it through.” He shook his head. “He’s a lot worse off than any of us expected.”

Balder stroked down his beard as he thought. “Speak with her regardless,” he decided and Clint nodded. “She can give you mind soothing potions.” He nodded at the two of them and went back to the table, greeting the Skrulls and Steve with a boom. Clint turned to Loki.

“You want me to go talk to her?”

Loki considered that and the plans he had for them later, and nodded. _Go speak with her while Steve and I talk with Hjalmar. Then we go to Helheim._

_Cap too?_

Loki sat down at the table and Clint put a plate of food in front of him. Loki picked at it while he thought. _I would prefer if he did not go,_ Loki finally said. _But I doubt we can keep him behind._

Steve looked across the table and raised an eyebrow at the two of them. “You two planning something?” he asked.

Loki took a sip of wine. “Nothing more than usual,” he replied with a smile.

There was a small, timid knock on the door, which opened a moment later, a nervous servant peering in. “My King,” she squeaked out, and Balder pushed up from the table and went over to her, a frown creasing his forehead. She held out a golden scroll. “A message from the council.”

Loki and Clint exchanged looks. Balder took the scroll and unfurled it. He read over the first sentence and let out a great sigh. “Loki,” he said, “we must speak.”

Loki pushed to his feet and went over to him, Clint shadowing him. Balder handed him the scroll and Loki glanced over it and let out a similar sigh to Balder’s. Loki turned and looked at the Skrulls and Steve. “I must excuse us,” Loki said, inclining his head. “I am glad you are well.”

The Skrulls all echoed similar sentiments.

“Steve, you may stay here if you wish,” Loki said, turning back to the scroll with a frown creasing his forehead. 

“No,” Steve decided, standing up and shaking his head. “I’m part of this now.” He gave his apologies to the Skrulls, who all waved him off, and he followed Balder, Loki, and Clint out of the antechamber and back into the throne room. Loki finished reading the scroll and Clint took it from him.

Balder shook his head and rubbed his forehead with one massive hand. “I should have seen this coming,” he muttered, and took them into a room off the throne room with a round golden table in the middle. Balder called for a servant to bring them food and drink and then sat down at the round table. Loki sat down a few seats away from him, Steve taking the seat to his left, Clint perching on the seat to his right. Clint spread the scroll out over the table. Steve leaned over to read it but couldn’t understand the language.

“What is it?” Steve asked stiffly. “Clearly it’s not good.”

“The King’s council has declared intent to remove Loki from the royal line,” Balder replied.

Loki’s entire body looked pinched. His upper lip curled in a way that had Clint reaching out and taking his hand. Steve’s eyes fell to their hands as he said, “I didn’t realize that was something that could happen to royalty.”

“The council cites enough reasons for it to be done,” Loki bit out, pulling his hand out from under Clint’s and tapping his long nails on the scroll. “My heritage is perhaps reason enough, but they cite my Regency and then my subsequent removal of the prior King. I also married a Midgardian without approval.” He shook his head, mouth turning down. 

“There is technically no need for approval from the council on any of those matters,” Clint offered up and Balder nodded in agreement.

“Lineage aside, you are still my Prince,” Balder said stiffly. “That is not something the council can change. So what is the purpose of this decree if they can do nothing?” He paused as two servants came in, each carrying platters of food and drink. Clint got up to help them and got Loki a flagon of beer and began putting together a plate for him, concern creasing his brow. The servants shut the door behind them and Balder continued, “There is concern to be had over their intention, however.” He grabbed a jar of mun-gat and guzzled half of it down, burping loudly.

“What do we do, then?” Steve questioned, getting up to get himself a plate. “How can I help?”

“I must speak with the council,” Loki decided, taking the plate and mug Clint brought him. He shared his plate with Clint, who sat back down next to him and picked up the scroll again. “This trip seems it will be longer than only a day,” Loki said, a bit of regret in his tone. “I had planned a dinner for us later but, this cannot be handled in such a short amount of time. We will have to speak with Eir and Hjalmar later.” He sent a questioning look to Clint while Steve sat back down.

Clint thought about the letter that had been slid under his door, how absolutely wrecked Bucky had been when they left him, and about the way his kids’ lives were passing by without him, the way he’d woken up in bed with Laura a few days before and seen grey in her hair. “Yes, sir,” he said finally, Loki’s forehead creasing briefly with a frown, but then Loki took the scroll from him and became engrossed in rereading it. 

“Why would they care about your Regency now?” Steve asked. “Wasn’t that three years ago?”

Balder frowned at him over his jug of mun-gat. “Yes,” he replied slowly. “Only three years.”

Clint looked at all of them. He could feel the yawning expanse of time stretch out before him and behind him, the insignificance of time of three years. He looked over to Loki, who suddenly looked every single one of his 1500 years. “Thor did not seek or gain approval before giving Loki the regency,” Clint told Steve, who leaned forward, interested, “but that was accepted. Loki is eccentric, after all. However, Thor used the time Loki was locked out of Asgard to spread dissent.”

“That’s how they know of my heritage,” Loki spit out, shaking his head, and he shoved the scroll across the table to Balder, who picked it up and glanced it over. Loki glared into his mug.

Clint nodded. “Then he killed Thor,” he said with a wince, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m surprised this hasn’t all come to head sooner.” He looked over at Balder, who was drinking down the rest of his mun-gat and reaching for another jug. “King?”

“It has been brought up before at council meetings,” Balder muttered out. “I had believed I had stopped the dissent. I had made a point of bringing up the assassination attempt you stopped, and the disloyal Einherjar that were found out and removed.”

“What happened to them?” Steve interrupted. “The soldiers.”

Balder and Clint exchanged faintly amused glances. “Attempts on the King’s life are not taken lightly,” Balder told him. “They were put to death. I cut off their heads with Stormbreaker.”

Steve looked like he wanted to argue but then he sighed and nodded. “Guess trials aren’t a big thing here, huh?”

“The King’s decision is final,” Balder informed him. “There is some leeway to be had with the council, which is why they can declare intent, but unless they gain my approval, little can be done. There are decisions to be made”—he looked over at Steve, who still just looked mostly confused—“but few can be made without my approval.”

“Politics,” Loki hissed under his breath, thoroughly annoyed by it all. He pushed away his plate and glowered at the scroll in Balder’s hands.

“You like politics,” Clint teased. “You’re just not behind this big plan and you didn’t know it was coming, so you’re pissed.” He looked at Steve. “Actually, this gives me an idea. You need a rundown on the landscape here.” Loki nodded in approval when Clint glanced at him. Clint pushed to his feet. “C’mon, Cap, let’s go talk.”

Steve brushed a kiss over Loki’s cheek and then followed Clint out of the room.

Balder gave Loki an amused look. “You allow him great freedoms,” he mused. Loki shrugged carelessly, picking up a jug of mun-gat and filling up a mug.

“He does what needs to be done,” Loki said casually. “His loyalty is to me above all. That is all that matters.”

“Asgard still employs a marshal,” Balder told him, sipping at his jug, “if you are interested.”

“I am perfectly capable of punishing my own hirdman,” Loki replied stiffly. “I can assure you that he is kept in hand. As King, there are few places you cannot reach, but my household is one of them. I would be very cautious in telling me what to do with my own.”

Balder lifted his jug in acknowledgement. “Taken under advisement, Prince,” he replied. Then he sighed deeply, reconsidering his actions. “I apologize for interfering, Loki. It was not my place.”

“No,” Loki agreed, but he watched Balder carefully.

“If the council continues this line of intention, you will come under intense scrutiny. Your relationship with Steve will be brought into question.” Loki’s mouth thinned. “I have not informed them of the curse Thor placed upon you. The healers took an oath to keep it quiet. However, they will find out. You know this, Loki. They will look into _everything._ ”

“Thor surely had a hand in this,” Loki muttered angrily, pushing to his feet and pacing in short strides in front of the round table. “He spread dissent about me after locking me out of Asgard. He planned for any eventuality.” He shook his head. “Clint will not speak with them.”

“They can take him in for questioning regardless.”

Loki nodded. “Let them,” he decided, stopping in front of the fire on the far side of the room, hands behind his back, flames dancing in his eyes. “I killed Thor for the good of this realm. Not only for myself, but for Asgard and her destiny.” His hands curled into fists. “Let them come,” he decided, turning back to look at Balder. “Let them _try._ ”

Balder raised his jug of mun-gat in agreement.

* * *

Clint led Steve down the hall to Loki’s rooms. “Technically,” he spoke up, “I shouldn’t be walking in front of you.” He paused and let Steve go first, ignoring the confused look the Captain gave him. “I’ll start with the basics. Here, first things first. You should never open a door yourself on Asgard.” As if cued, the Einherjar posted outside Loki’s doors pulled them open. Clint followed Steve inside and called for a servant, asking for a light meal to be brought for them.

Clint waited for Steve to look around Loki’s rooms and then sit on the lounge in front of the unlit fireplace. Clint pulled over a chair and explained, “I can’t sit on the same level as you without permission. I also shouldn’t sit without permission.” He waited for Steve’s confused nod to sit. “Okay, so. Asgard is a monarchy, but it’s not like England or whatever. When a monarch can rule for thousands of years, it changes a lot of things. For instance, three years for a council to bring forward a complaint is actually pretty fast.”

“Fast?” Steve repeated, looking overwhelmed and a bit lost. 

Clint nodded. “If your lifespan is a few thousand years, what’s three? Hell, sometimes an Aesir will sleep for a year.” He shrugged. “Okay, so, the main populace is fairly typical. There are different classes, but the majority are probably solidly middle class. Balder has a pretty firm policy on assisting with any sort of poverty and making sure no one goes hungry. A lot of the palace workers were people who lost jobs and couldn’t find new ones, so Balder employed them. The Einherjar also employ a lot of folks who are down on their luck. It creates a lot of loyalty to the throne, too.”

A servant came in, carrying a tray, and Clint dragged over a table for them to put the tray in front of Steve. The servant bowed to Steve and then left as Clint picked up a plate and began to fill it with foods Steve liked.

“Why do you do that?” Steve asked, motioning to the plate in Clint’s hand.

“It’s my job,” Clint replied, handing the plate over. “It’s no different than you punching Nazis. It’s your duty, just like this is mine.” He sat back down and waited for Steve to eat a bit of food before continuing, “So, there’s the regular citizens. They just do their own thing down in the city and out in the country and the woods and wherever they live. The biggest hierarchy that you have to deal with is within the palace. Everyone is on different levels. When I say Asgard is kind of a caste system, that’s mostly what I’m talking about.”

“What caste are you, then?”

Clint thought about that. “I don’t really fit into it,” he sighed. “Midgardians are kind of like pets to Aesir. So, there’s that. But Aesir can also see bonds. So they also can see that, one: I’m not human, and two: I belong to Loki, which puts me into a higher class. But I’m also property. It’s kind of weird. We can just move past it.”

“That’s why they call you ‘it’,” Steve recalled. “I remember you telling me it was a respect thing.”

Clint nodded. “Being property of the Prince means that they can’t refer to me without Loki doing it first. It’s a respect thing for Loki. Same with how Balder can’t really tell me what to do. He can ask, but I don’t have obligation to him like I do to Loki. Or you, now, with the whole marriage thing.” Clint thought about that. “I know Loki said I would be yours after the marriage, and I am, but it’s different.”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t get it,” he muttered.

“Yeah,” Clint snorted, “it’s complicated. So, different levels in the palace. You know about the right and left hand thing?”

Steve nodded immediately. “I remember you figuring out our relationship was fake at the time because of where I sat.”

“I also knew because I could read Loki’s mind,” Clint shot back with a grin, “but yeah. There’s a dynamic with the right and left hand. Loki is higher than you, given that you married into the family, so you sit at his left hand. He wouldn’t sit at yours because it’s improper.”

“Why don’t you sit at my right hand?”

“Because I belong to Loki. I serve both of you, but I belong to him.”

Steve rubbed his hand over his forehead. “This is so fucking confusing,” he muttered. “It feels like everything is overly convoluted just for the sake of it.”

Clint shrugged. “When you live as long as Aesir do, things tend to get a bit complicated. Hey, did Balder ever ask you about the Valkyrie?”

Steve sighed. “Yeah. He asked me if I wanted a bodyguard.”

“How offended were you?”

“Pretty? Very?” Steve shook his head. “I told him I was fine. I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Captain America doesn’t need a bodyguard,” Clint pointed out, Steve’s eyes widening and landing on him. “Steve Rogers of Midgard doesn’t need a bodyguard. Prince Steve of Asgard needs a bodyguard.” Steve considered that.

“Why wasn’t I told about any of this stuff before Loki and I got married?”

“You never asked,” Clint reminded him. “We both kind of figured you didn’t really care.”

Steve grimaced. “I just kind of thought I’d understand once Loki and I were married,” he muttered.

“It’s a lot to figure out,” Clint admitted. “It’s my job to know and to advise Loki when he asks. You need someone to do that when you’re here.”

“You can’t?”

“A little,” Clint considered. “We can communicate telepathically, after all. But I’ll talk to Balder. He’ll find you someone trustworthy.” Clint gave Steve a slow, considering look. “Perhaps an Einherjar. You’d get along best with a soldier.”

Steve shrugged. “What else do I need to know?”

“Never open a door for yourself, never make yourself a plate. I only let you do it earlier because it was just us in that room. Same with making your own bed, which is a weird thing you like to do, and same with bathing yourself. No showers on Asgard, so baths are kind of the only way to go. Dressing yourself is kind of frowned upon, but it won’t start any gossip.” Clint reconsidered that. “Actually, the servants will probably gossip, but they do that over everything. I overheard them talking about the kind of salad Loki wanted last time we were here.”

Steve clenched his jaw. “I can do all of those things,” he pointed out, like Clint didn’t know him.

“It’s not about ability, it’s about your station. You wanted to marry a prince, you have to act like it. It’s just when you’re on Asgard, anyway. And, again, Loki is eccentric, so you get away with more than normal.”

Steve ate in silence for a few minutes and then looked at Clint. “I want lessons,” he finally decided. “I’ll take the bodyguard. But I want you to give me lessons on what I’m supposed to do and how I’m supposed to be acting. I chose this. I’m going to be Loki’s husband for a long time. I want to do it right.”

Clint grinned at him. “As you wish, my Captain.”

* * *

Eir glared at him. Clint gave her a winning smile. “I have mind soothing potions,” she informed him stiffly, but didn’t move to get them. “I refuse to give them to you without meeting this... _Bucky._ ”

“Alright,” Clint agreed, thinking it over. “I can bring him out here.”

“What is a mind soothing potion?” Steve asked from behind him. Eir stiffened and bowed slightly when he entered the room.

“Prince,” she greeted stiffly. “We use mind soothing potions for Aesir who experience nightmares, have suffered trauma, or who have mental illness.”

“So it’s like medicine,” Steve replied thoughtfully. 

“Similar,” Eir told him. “Medicine treats the symptoms. The potions treat the problem itself.”

“You think it would help Bucky?” Steve asked Clint, who was picking up empty vials and holding them up to his eye and looking around the room. Clint turned and looked at him through one of the vials, one large eye blinking through the glass. Eir pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. 

Clint put the vial down and shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt, that’s for sure. Loki tried them after waking up from the coma. I’ve taken a few drops of one a few times. They’re good shit.”

“Yes,” Eir said, looking like she was a minute away from forcing the both of them out of her office, “they’re, as you say, _‘good shit’._ ”

Clint turned to her, a smile creasing his face. “You know I have to tell Loki you said that, right?”

“Of course,” she replied, and opened the door to wave them out. “Please give my regards to the Prince.”

Clint followed Steve out, Eir slamming the door behind them. “I was gonna steal one of her potions, but I think it’s actually a good idea for Bucky to meet Eir.”

“How so?”

“She’s impartial,” Clint offered up with a shrug. “Eir’s seen a lot worse than 70 years of brainwashing. Trust me, you literally can’t surprise her.”

Steve nodded and paused down the hall from the healer wing. “What’s next?”

Clint glanced over him. “You want to see some jewels? We can go talk to Boda.”

“That name sounds familiar,” Steve mused. “Lead the way.”

Clint raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, right,” Steve muttered. _How do I get there?_

_Take the next right._

Steve nodded and set back down the hall, inclining his head to a few Einherjar that they passed. The Einherjar raised their spears to him and Steve awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. Clint elbowed him in the side once they were out of eyesight. _You’re gonna have to get used to that, you know._

 _It’s just weird!_ Steve exclaimed, shaking his head. 

Clint rolled his eyes. _Yeah, I can really see how being treated like the sun shines out your ass is weird,_ he drawled out, Steve rolling his eyes at him. _Go down the stairs to the left. Her door is down that hall._

Steve nodded and turned down the stairs, Clint following behind.

_What’s going to happen with the council?_

Clint sighed. _Loki and Balder are still talking about it. They’ll be in deliberations for probably a few more days. I’ll have to join them tomorrow, probably._

Steve frowned. _What will I do, then?_

 _Well,_ Clint said, stopping in front of Boda’s door and knocking on it, _you’re a prince. You can do whatever you want._ He shot Steve a sly grin. _How about you go spar with the Einherjar? You’d like them._

The door opened and Boda looked over at them, eyes going wide when she recognized Steve and Clint. She moved quickly over to the door and greeted them, “Prince. Do you ask something of me?” Her eyes glanced over Clint and she looked faintly disgusted.

Steve raised an eyebrow at her and at Clint’s nod, pushed past her and looked around the room. “Not really,” Steve said slowly, looking at the various jewels and gems and jewelry all over the room. “I’ve seen some of the work you’ve done for Loki.” Boda inclined her head and her eyes flickered over the snake wrapped around Clint’s neck, then she turned to follow Steve around the room, pulling out the biggest gems she had in her collection, most of which were from Loki. 

Clint leaned against the wall near the closed door and pulled out his phone. He brushed his fingers over the ruby-hilted dagger on his belt when Boda looked back at him. 

Boda turned to look at Steve, who was holding up a sapphire the size of his fist. She looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself. She glared at Clint, who winked at her and then looked back at his phone, reading through the unanswered texts he had. 

“Who owns all of this?” Steve asked, motioning to the various gems Boda pulled out for him. 

“The crown,” Boda replied.

Steve nodded. “So, if I wanted, you would make something for me.”

“Of course,” she told him.

“Clint, can you wait outside?” Steve asked.

“Can’t leave you alone, Cap, sorry,” Clint offered up with a shrug. “I can take my aids out if you want.” Steve grimaced but nodded, and Clint put his phone away and slid his hearing aids out of his ears. The world went blessedly silent. Clint leaned his head back against the wall and watched in amusement as Steve picked up a few gems and showed them to Boda, who was struggling to not look bored.

_Think your boy is getting you a present._

He could feel Loki’s attention turn to him like a cat seeing a mouse. _Oh,_ Loki purred into his mind, _I enjoy presents._

_You got any idea why Boda hates you?_

_I am well known for my particular tastes,_ Loki replied. _Boda always enjoyed Thor’s company more than she enjoys mine. She was never fond of me._

Clint nodded. _Can’t blame her. You’re horrible._

Loki rolled his eyes.

_How goes it with Balder?_

_He informed me that Asgard still employs a marshal, if you are interested._

_Naw, I don’t need some big ex-Einherjar beating the shit out of me. You want to bring me to heel or whatever Balder thinks I need, you do it yourself._

Loki’s mouth appeared in his mind, curling into a smile. He could feel Loki’s long fingers slipping through his thoughts. _Balder believes you have too many freedoms._

Clint shrugged at that. _I didn’t realize I belonged to Balder._ He watched as Steve brought another gem over to Boda, who gave him an impressed look. _If his opinion matters, maybe you should give me to him._

Loki’s fingers curled into a fist, long nails digging into Clint’s mind. His knees trembled and he squeezed his eyes shut. _You would enjoy that, wouldn’t you?_

_If you wanted me to._

Loki smiled again and pulled out of Clint’s mind, turning to Balder and saying something to him that Clint couldn’t hear. Clint opened his eyes to see Steve a few feet away from him, giving him a concerned look, mouth moving. Clint slid his hearing aids back in and turned them on, wincing as sound filtered back in. 

_You alright?_ Steve asked. 

Clint took in a deep breath and nodded, pushing himself off the wall. _Loki just needed to reaffirm some things. You good here? I want to see you beat some Einherjar up._

“Yeah, I’m good,” Steve said out loud, giving Boda a goodbye wave, and Clint opened the door for him. “Where do they practice?”

“Outside, behind the palace,” Clint told him with a grin, and told Steve the way. Steve nodded and glanced down at his formal Aesir attire. “Don’t worry,” Clint snorted. “Just strip down to your pants. You’re gonna bleed all over whatever you wear anyway.”

Clint pushed open the doors to the training grounds and escorted Steve out into a dirt field, surrounded by training dummies and targets and stone pillars. There were various soldiers and warriors all around the field, swords and spears and shields clashing, shouting and war cries.

“Prince on the field!” an Einherjar posted near the door called and everyone stopped and straightened up, panting and wiping away their sweat and giving their greetings to Steve.

Steve pulled off his tunic and handed it to Clint, and then he held out his hand. It took a moment and then Mjolnir soared through the air, smacking into his palm.

“Who wishes to fight?” Steve called, and it took a long second before a woman stepped forward, black hair gleaming in the sun, and she pointed her spear at Steve.

“I will fight you,” she swore, and a bloodthirsty smile crossed her face. “And I will win.”

Steve smiled darkly and surged forward, meeting her in the middle with a clash of metal. The Einherjar created a circle around them and jeered at them, cheering Sif and Steve on. Clint rolled his eyes at the lot of them but waved over a servant and handed Steve’s tunic to them and then went in closer to watch. They were both quick on their feet, both fast, and both skilled. But Sif had a thousand years of experience, and even though Steve was stronger, and brought in the storm, she eventually overpowered him, standing with her foot on his chest and her spear under his chin.

“Do you yield?”

Steve held out his hand and Mjolnir slapped into his palm. He looked up at her and nodded. “I yield,” he said, and Sif stepped off him. Steve held up a hand and Sif hesitated for a moment and then clasped his forearm and hauled him to his feet. Steve looked over the gathered Einherjar and nodded at them. “I’ve never used a spear before,” he told them, turning his head to look up at Sif. “Show me.”

She smiled again. “Of course, Prince.” Sif and a few Einherjar brought Steve off to the side to show him how to hold and heft a spear, the other Einherjar going back to sparring. Clint moved around the edge of the field to stay close to Steve, eyes flicking around the training grounds.

Steve looked a lot calmer out here with the soldiers. He was more sure of himself, less tension in his shoulders, more confident in his speech. He was most comfortable around Sif, which Clint thought was interesting, and the rest of the Einherjar quickly got comfortable with their prince on the field, a few of them trying to pick up Mjolnir and laughing when they failed. 

_I think Steve found his guard._

_Oh?_

_Sif._

Loki thought about that. _Interesting._ Then, a moment later, _She despises me._

_She hates who Thor turned you into. Maybe she’ll learn how to tolerate this you._

Loki dipped into his head and took control over his eyes, steering Clint’s body to stand next to a stone pillar. An Einherjar caught sight of him and inclined his head but didn’t speak. Clint sunk down into his mind and sat next to Loki’s throne, enjoying Loki taking control of him for a bit. It was easier to be owned, easier to be controlled.

Loki watched as Sif shook her head at something another Einherjar said and corrected him, showing Steve how to raise his elbow correctly in a spear thrust. She didn’t touch him unless he initiated it, as was proper for someone of her station, but she was comfortable enough with him to direct him. He’d never liked Sif, but Loki had always disliked Thor’s friends. They were all cruel to him. But perhaps Clint was right. Perhaps it had been Thor’s influence that had alienated so many of their peers. 

Loki excused himself from Balder for a moment and walked through the dimensions to step out at Clint’s side. He pulled himself out of Clint’s mind but kept his hand on the back of Clint’s neck, fingers sliding under the snake. _If she becomes his personal guard, then you will not have to accompany him around the palace._

Clint’s eyes slid open and he blinked, coming back to himself, and then he nodded. _Sif is well-versed in Aesir tradition and service. She would consider it an honor._

There was a commotion and an Einherjar called out, “Prince on the field!” and everyone turned and bowed to Loki, who frowned. 

“Oh, continue, would you?” he drawled out with a roll of his eyes. The Einherjar all nodded and turned back to their mock battles, but Steve pushed through the crowd to head for Loki, sweaty and dirty and bloodied and grinning. Sif followed him, inclining her head to Loki and Clint. “Husband,” Loki greeted, holding out a hand to keep Steve at arm’s length. “I enjoyed watching you fight. I do not enjoy my clothes being covered in dirt and whatever else you have on you.”

Steve hefted up Mjolnir and smiled at it. “Meeting the soldiers was the right call,” he told Clint. “Hey, you two know Sif, right?”

“She was a friend of my brother’s,” Loki said stiffly as Sif bowed to him, a slight frown tugging down her mouth. “Lady Sif.”

“Prince Loki,” she replied, just as stiff. “You look well.”

“Come with me,” Loki said to all of them, turning on his heel and walking away from the training grounds. Clint shrugged at Steve and followed Loki, and then Steve and Sif followed behind him. Clint paused for just long enough that he was behind Steve but in front of Sif, who gave him a curious look. 

Loki stopped on the outskirts of the training field, right where the grass began, and he looked out over the great forest beneath them. He clasped his hands behind his back.

“Sif, what are your current duties?”

“Training recruits, your Highness.”

“Do you enjoy this work?”

“I enjoy doing as I am told by the King.”

Loki nodded and turned back to them, Clint moving over to his side. Steve had spent the last few minutes looking confused, but sudden awareness flooded his features. To Loki’s surprise, he didn’t look as annoyed as Loki had expected. Steve glanced at Sif and then nodded, hooking Mjolnir on his belt. 

“Steve needs a personal guard,” Loki informed her, watching in amusement as understanding filtered over her face.

“You hate me,” Sif hissed. “This is...this is some scheme of yours, Loki. You would bring me into the palace only to turn my own spear against me.”

“You are not important enough for my hate,” Loki told her loftily. Sif glared at him. “If I wished you dead, I would have already killed you.” Clint put his hand on the ruby-hilted dagger at his belt. Sif sneered at him. “This is not about me, Lady Sif. This is about Steve.”

Steve looked a bit concerned about their conversation, but he turned to look at Sif regardless. “Either you or someone else,” Steve told her. “It’s just a job. I need someone who is willing to help and is a fearless fighter. You are the first I’ve met that fits both of those requirements.”

Her shoulders straightened and Sif lifted her chin. She glanced over Clint and her lip curled at the sight of him. Clint just raised an eyebrow at her. “If you wish for a personal guard, then my duties cannot be limited to Asgard,” Sif said finally, turning fully to Steve.

“I really only need—” Steve started, turning to look at Loki, who shook his head.

“No,” Loki told him. “She is right. A personal guard is meant to be a shadow.”

Sif nodded. “Then a shadow I will be!” she declared, and went on bended knee before Steve, who looked shocked. “I vow my spear and shield to the life of Prince Steven Rogers. I vow to be his sword in battle and his hands at home. I, Lady Sif of Asgard, fearless warrior of the Nine Realms, pledge my life to his.”

With that, she pulled a dagger out of her boot and sliced her palm, squeezing her fist to drop blood on Steve’s boots. Clint handed the ruby-hilted dagger over to Steve and made a cutting motion over his own palm, and Steve nodded and cut his palm, spilling his blood to mix with Sif’s. She reached out her hand and Steve grasped it, pulling it to her feet, their blood mixing. A brief zap of seidr raced through the both of them and Sif stiffened, brown eyes searching blue.

“Very well,” Loki said. “Feel free to return to your...activities. We have a meeting with the council tomorrow.” Steve handed Clint the dagger back and stepped back from Sif. Loki looked over Steve and Sif and nodded. “A good fit,” he decided, and turned and swept away.

“Good job,” Clint told Steve cheekily, and darted after Loki. 

Steve turned to Sif, who gave him a careful, slow look. Steve sighed. “Hope you have a better idea of how to be a prince than I do,” Steve told her.

Sif tried to hide her smile but ducked her chin. “I was friends with Thor for a thousand years,” she informed him. “If I know anything, I can show you how to _not_ be a prince.”

Steve smiled at her. “That sounds good to me.” He looked back over the Einherjar behind them. “What other weapons are there besides spears? My best skill is with a shield.”

“A shield?” Sif repeated. “A shield is no weapon.”

“It is in my hands,” Steve told her with a wry grin. Sif stepped back and motioned for Steve to lead her back to the training rounds.

“Lead the way then, Sire, and show me.”

* * *

Balder just shook his head at the news that Loki had taken one of his strongest fighters and most talented soldiers. “At least Steve is in good hands with her,” he mused, “and you have yours back by your side.”

Loki sat back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other, staring into the fire across the room. “Everyone is where they belong,” he said softly, taking the chalice Clint held out for him. “What else is to be done tonight?”

“Little,” Balder sighed. “The council can do little to you. There is nothing they can take from you, no where they can make you go. They cannot restrict your movement, cannot barr you or exile you, cannot cut the pursestrings or keep you from your duties, little as they are. You sit above all of them, and I am the only one who can take anything from you.” Loki’s shoulders stiffened and his green eyes flickered red. Behind him, Clint’s eyes narrowed on Balder. “You have had enough taken from you, Loki. You will be royalty of Asgard no matter your actions, no matter what the council says of you.” Loki didn’t relax at that, but Balder wasn’t looking at him. Instead, he kept his gaze down in his cup. “If the council wanted you gone, they should have killed you after you cut Thor’s throat. This is some manner of power play, but I do not know their goal.”

Clint frowned, following Loki’s gaze back to the fire. “For there to be a power play, there has to be an end goal.” Balder merely sighed and nodded his agreement, rubbing one massive hand over his face.

* * *

Balder sat at the head of the council table, Loki at the foot. The seats at Balder’s right and left hands sat empty, while both of Loki’s were full, with Steve at his left and Clint at his right. Sif stood behind Steve, getting a few interested looks from the entering council members, but their attention was immediately drawn to Clint, who got more than a few disgusted looks and mutterings of his name. Loki and Clint both ignored it, but Steve started to frown. Sif placed one hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Loki gave her an approving look.

 _Hopefully she proves to be as useful during this meeting,_ Loki said, nodding when Clint motioned to fill his chalice with mead. Sif moved to do the same for Steve, but the Captain shook his head.

“Is there any water?” Steve asked her as she bent her head to hear him. Sif nodded and moved to the servant’s table behind the council table, pouring Steve a chalice and bringing it back to him. 

“The Midgard Prince found himself a guard, then?” one of the council members asked, this man a tall, thin Aesir with sharp eyes and a pointed beard.

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. “Midgard doesn’t have princes,” he told the council. “At least not the parts I’m from. I am a prince of Asgard and I would have you call me such.”

Loki cleared his throat, a bit of a flush appearing on his cheeks. Clint looked thoroughly amused but didn’t say anything. Loki reached out and put his hand on Steve’s. “Enough,” he murmured. “You sit above all of the council members.” Loki flicked his eyes down the table. “It would be prudent for those gathered to remember that.”

Balder stood before anyone could say anything. “Do we call this council meeting to begin?” he called out, and was greeted with a resounding response of ‘aye’s. “Very good.” He sat back down and turned his head to the scribe sitting in the corner. “I call this meeting’s start.” Balder turned his attention back to the council and pulled the golden scroll out of his coat, laying it flat on the table and unrolling it. “I read your letter of intent, council. I was half a mind to burn it, you know. Or to send my soldiers to all of your homes and burn them down for this manner of hearsay!” Balder slammed a palm on the table. “Now, tell your King why you would come after his Prince?”

At the far end of the table, Loki’s chin lifted and he crossed one leg over the other, settling back in his chair, shoulders straight. He was wearing heavy finery befitting of his station, his green tunic and trousers embossed with golden snakes, jewelry heavy around his neck and wrists and fingers. Steve had told him he looked like a prize to be won, and Loki had taken the compliment, radiating an aura of smugness. Steve was in far simpler clothes, his tunic in an abstract pattern of red, white, and blue that was similar to his shield, and he wore plain blue pants over heavy black boots with buckles all up the calf.

“He is no prince of Asgard,” a council member hissed, sliding purple eyes down the table to Loki. His name was Wilmot, and he’d been made a member of the council by Odin. He’d sat in his chair for nearly three thousand years, and had grown used to the power he’d had over Asgard under Odin’s rule, as had most of the council. “He is Jotun scum.”

“I could pull a pig from the mud and call it my prince,” Balder snarled, “and you could have no say over my actions and I would expect you to treat that pig as your prince. Loki is of Asgard, regardless of where he was born. The council is powerless to remove him from his station, so I demand to know what this meeting is truly about.”

“He killed Thor,” another council member spat out. Her name was Vame and she, too, had been appointed to the council by Odin.

“Then why did you not kill me then?” Loki asked, tipping his head to look at her. “My forces in that battle all left once Thor was dead. There was nothing stopping any of you.” He smiled then, for a brief moment. “Of course, you would have had to gone to battle against me to begin with. You lot hid up here in your homes, hidden behind your guards and your gates, and you did nothing. Same as you did nothing during the centuries I spent at Thor’s feet. So, whatever game this is, whatever hand you are attempting to play, I would suggest you do so before I lose what is left of my patience.”

The council all shifted in their seats as they looked between themselves. Finally, the head of the council, that same thin man with the grey pointed beard, he who was called Stagh, said, “We intend to remove Balder from his throne.”

“And who would you have take my place?” Balder snarled. “You? Another member of the council? Give up the throne altogether?”

Stagh shook his head. “We intend to have no King,” he informed Balder. “The council would all be the High Seat of the Nine.”

“So you intend to take power from me and give it to yourselves?” Balder asked. “And tell me why I should not have all your heads cut off for treason and an attempt on the life of the King?”

“We only ask for your mercy,” another council member begged, all of them simultaneously coming to realize what a mess they’d made. 

Balder surged to his feet and slammed his fist down onto the table, the entire room clashing with thunder as Stormbreaker soared into his palm. “I am no merciful King!” he roared out. “You tell me that my entire house is illegitimate and unsuited for the throne and then you dare ask me for _mercy?_ ” He shook his great head. “That is not what you will find here. Loki, bind them.”

Loki raised a hand and green seidr slipped from his fingers to wrap around the wrists of each council member and bind them back to the table, no matter how they struggled or attempted to use their own seidr to get free. “I’d assumed they just wanted me gone,” he mused, “or were unhappy I brought a human into the house of Odin. This is far more interesting.”

Steve looked absolutely baffled by the whole proceeding. He looked from Loki, who looked annoyed and a bit impressed, to Clint, who just looked amused, and back to Sif, who was stone-faced. “This isn’t normal, right?” he asked her, and Sif shook her head. “Oh, thank God,” Steve muttered, turning back to the table. Steve looked at Clint. “Has this happened before?”

“Treason is fairly uncommon,” Clint offered up, “especially on this scale. I mean, it happens, but an entire council?” He shook his head. At the far end of the table, Balder called in a few Einherjar. Clint’s mouth slowly curled into a dark smile. “I’m going to enjoy the trial.”

“Trial?” Steve asked, watching as Loki pushed to his feet and walked down the table to whisper in Balder’s ear. “I thought there weren’t trials here.”

“There aren’t,” Clint replied, Sif echoing his statement. “They’re all going to be fed truth potions and they’re going to answer whatever questions are asked of them.”

“A poor guard,” a council member spat at Clint, “sitting while his master stands. Is that what they teach on Midgard now? To sit while those better than you stand?”

“I wasn’t taught anything,” Clint replied breezily. “All I do is what I’m told. And the last thing Loki told me to do was sit, and he hasn’t left the room, so there isn’t anything for me to do.” He leaned forward, pulling the ruby-hilted dagger from his belt and pointing it at the council members. They all knew what the weapon was and their eyes went wide.

“A poor King who lets his Prince marry a human,” Stagh spat out, fighting his bonds. Loki and Balder moved away from each other to look down the table at him. “Brings two of the disgusting rats into our palace. And we’re meant to call one of them prince? Meant to kneel to him and go into battle for him? I think not!” Behind Steve, Sif raised her spear, but Balder shook his head at her. 

Another council member spoke up, “We know the bonds Loki shares with his so-called personal guard.” She lifted her chin. “Balder, this _human_ is allowed within our walls. How do we even know it is not filled with treachery? How do we know it even _serves?_ ”

“You can call me a lot of things,” Clint interrupted, his tone deceptively casual, “but disloyal isn’t one of them, you traitors.”

The Einherjar came in at Balder’s command and gathered the council members up and took them to the dungeons. Once they were out of the room, Clint pushed to his feet and went over to Loki, sliding a hand over the god’s back and herding him to the nearest chair. Sif shook her head and sat down next to Steve. The five of them sat in silence for a few minutes. 

“What the hell was all that?” Steve finally asked. “I thought they were here about Loki, not removing you, Balder.”

“As did I,” Balder sighed. “I believe they saw their chance and took it. Loki, I must ask of you to stay.”

“This was meant to be a one day trip,” Loki hissed out. “We have duties back on Midgard. We must prepare for Thanos.”

“You have duties to Asgard,” Balder reminded him gently. Loki bared his teeth. 

“Fine,” he spat out. “A week. I will give you a week.” Loki shook his head. “Wasn’t the purpose of you having the throne was that I would be free? I detest this.” Clint patted him on the shoulder and Loki turned to glare up at him. “I wish to retire for the night,” Loki announced, going to his feet. “Balder, we will return to this mess in the morning.”

Loki stalked out of the council room, Clint on his heels, and Steve shrugged and then he and Sif followed behind. Balder, alone, put his head in his hands.

* * *

Steve stood awkwardly across from Loki in their bedroom as Sif, still stone-faced, helped him undress. She kept slapping his hands away whenever he tried to undo a button and Steve eventually just gave in and stood still and watched, across the room, as Clint did the same thing to Loki. 

“What do you think of all this?” Steve asked her, keeping his voice low. He winced as she went on one knee before him to unbuckle his boots. “You don’t have to do this, you know. Really. I can do it myself.”

“I am his hands at home,” Sif repeated, and she looked pointedly over her shoulder at where Clint was undoing the bracelets around Loki’s wrist. “It is my oath. And I do not have an opinion, Sire.”

“Of course you do,” Steve snapped back, clenching his jaw when Sif looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. “You’re supposed to know more than I do about these types of things. You obviously have _some_ kind of opinion on the entirety of the King’s council betraying him.”

“Fine,” Sif replied, her tone short. “I believe all of their tongues should be cut out and fed back to them for speaking against the King, and I believe their heads should be shorn from their shoulders for thinking such thoughts. I believe their homes should be burned and their families slaughtered. Is that what you wished to hear?”

Steve nodded firmly. “All I want is honesty,” he told her. 

“Interesting then,” Sif replied, taking Steve’s boots and standing up to take them over to his closet, “that you would marry the God of Lies.”

Steve caught her shoulder in his hand before she could move away. “Be careful of how you speak of my husband,” Steve said quietly and firmly. “You may dislike him, but I will not hear of it.”

Sif nodded and Steve released her shoulder and looked across the room to see Loki and Clint gone, quiet voices coming from the bathroom. 

“You don’t have to bathe me, right?”

Sif laughed. “No, we can both agree I do not need to do that. If you are finished, I will retire for the night.”

“Where do you sleep?” Steve asked, shifting uncomfortably as her quick fingers undid the tie on his pants. 

“There are guard quarters next door. If you wish, I can move into your quarters. I also understand that Clint often shares your bed. It is a service you may ask of me as well.”

“It’s not sexual,” Steve told her, stepping out of his pants, watching as Sif pulled them off his feet and then took them over to the hamper in the closet. “He and Loki are pretty codependent.”

“I hold no judgement,” Sif told him. “My duty is to serve.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “May I retire?”

“Of course,” Steve sighed, and walked into the bathroom as she left. Loki was in the bath, Clint perched on a stool next to it, washing Loki’s hair. The bathtub was probably the same size as the apartment Steve and Bucky had shared back before the war, and Steve hissed as he pulled off his underwear and then slid into the steaming water. “I think Sif just propositioned me,” he told them, a frown on his face.

Loki froze, as did Clint’s hand in hair. “Pardon me?” Loki asked slowly.

“She said that she could join us in bed,” Steve replied. “I thought she was supposed to guard me, not offer up her body in service.”

“Ah,” Loki said, body relaxing again, Clint’s hands moving again through his hair. “Personal guards are often taken to bed. It is very common, especially among royalty with arranged marriages. Sif was merely informing you that she is capable of performing that service, if you require it of her. I assume you will not, of course.”

“No!” Steve exclaimed. “I’m _married_. I don’t need anyone else.” He shook his head. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow, clear up any confusion.” Steve ducked his head under the water and then when he came back up, he asked, “Is that why everyone thinks Clint and you are fucking?”

Loki and Clint both laughed. “Yes,” Loki said with a shrug. “As I said, it is very common.”

“Anyway I could get them to _stop_ thinking that?”

Loki considered it. “You could fuck me on the throne in front of all the citizens,” he mused, mouth curling in a smile as Steve moved through the water closer to him. 

“And that’s my cue,” Clint decided, pulling his hands out of Loki’s hair and stepping away from the bath. “See you weirdos later.” He shut the bathroom door behind himself after wiping his hands off on the nearest towel. 

Steve pressed Loki against the side of the tub, arms sliding over Loki’s shoulders. Slowly, Steve leaned in to brush his mouth over Loki’s, murmuring, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Me owning you in front of the entire realm. You sucking my cock and then bending over the throne, showing off your pretty hole before I completely wreck it.”

Loki shivered, legs going wide, sliding his own arms around Steve’s middle. “My Captain, owning me for all to see,” he breathed out, eyes slitting shut, head tipping back as Steve’s mouth moved down his jawline to his neck. “Tell me, how would you do it?”

Steve stiffened as the water around him grew suddenly cold as Loki pulled the glamour away, blue skin appearing under Steve’s hands, red eyes intent on his face. Steve blinked a few times and then moved back up Loki’s body and pressed a kiss to his dark-lipped mouth. “A Jotun on the throne of Asgard,” Steve said as he ran his tongue over Loki’s sharp teeth. “A Jotun and a human.” His hand slid down through the cold water to find Loki’s cock, hard against his thigh. He stroked over Loki’s length as he continued, “Would you like to be laid bare in front of all of Asgard? Have them know your true face?”

“I would have them know,” Loki hissed, hips pushing up into Steve’s grasp. Steve released his hold and instead moved up on top of the shelf Loki was sitting on, one thigh in between his legs, the other outside Loki’s hip, and he pushed Loki back until he was arched back over the edge of the tub, breathing rapidly. Red eyes watched as Steve towered over him, cock straight out in front of him, wide head brushing over Loki’s stomach. “How would you do it?” Loki repeated a bit stubbornly. “How would my Captain own me in front of all of Asgard?”

Steve held Loki down with one wide hand spread over his chest and nosed down his neck, saying, “Let me hear it from you. Tell me how you would have me take you, how you would have it happen.”

Loki let out a staggering breath, Steve holding him down tighter, pushing the breath out of his lungs. “Perhaps you would start while I was still asleep,” Loki decided, gasping when Steve bit down again and again. “Yes, you would, wouldn’t you? You’d wait until I was asleep, until nothing could pull me from slumber, and you’d slide your fingers inside me until I was wet and open.” Steve’s hand tightened on Loki’s chest, pushing more breath out of him, and Loki shifted uncomfortably but didn’t say anything. “How many times have you slid inside me, Captain? How many times have you fucked me while I slept?”

Steve grunted, teeth digging into Loki’s skin, and then he pulled back, tongue laving against the indents he left in the cold skin. “Not as many times as I would’ve liked,” he muttered. “Clint’s always in bed with us.”

Loki rolled his eyes and pushed Steve off him, Steve splashing back into the water. “Must you always bring him up? Fuck me next to him. It does not matter.”

“It matters to me,” Steve reminded him, and he hopped up on the side of the tub and motioned Loki over to him. “Would it be the same if Sif were in our bed?” Steve opened his thighs and Loki moved in between them, sliding his hands up Steve’s thighs.

Loki’s mouth tightened at the thought and then he shook his head. “Once I grow to trust her with you, then it would be barely different,” he eventually said. “But you may ask him to leave our bed if you wish to fuck me. Give him a pillow and let him sleep on the floor.”

Steve stopped Loki’s hand from sliding further up his thigh. “Sif said there were guard’s quarters next door. Perhaps he could move into them.”

With that, Loki pulled away and pulled the glamour back over himself, all pale skin and flickering green eyes and long black hair. He ducked under the water to rinse out his hair and then pushed out of the bath. He summoned a towel and dried himself off and then twisted it up into his hair. “If that is your wish,” he decided. “Also, I do not like it when I cannot breathe.” Green eyes landed on Steve and narrowed. “Reminds me of my brother.”

Loki moved out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, pulling on a nightgown and then sitting in front of his vanity to brush out his hair. He did not pay any attention to Steve when he exited the bathroom and got ready for bed.

Steve slid between the sheets and under the furs and sighed up at the ceiling. _If I do something that you don’t like or makes you feel unsafe, don’t wait until later to tell me._ He went to say something more, but Loki didn’t look at him, so Steve turned on his side and soon fell into a restless sleep.

It took a long time for Loki to finish applying lotions to his skin and oils to his hair. He was...annoyed. Frustrated. It felt a bit ridiculous, but he’d grown used to the three of them in bed together. It was easier that way. His mind was soothed with Clint close to him. Less nightmares, less stress, less worry. If there was a point of dissent in his and Steve’s relationship, it was Clint.

Loki’s hand curled around his hairbrush. He’d somehow managed to get part of his life back that he’d left behind when he’d run from Thor. Somehow, he was still Prince of Asgard. Traitors and treachery aside, he had somehow gained Balder’s loyalty enough that Balder would not even hear of removing him from his station. Thor’s death had brought more into his life than it had taken. Thor and Frigga had put him through so many endless cruelties and he had clawed his way out of them and back home.

He wondered if the Loki he had been before he lost his memory would’ve sent Clint away, if he had once felt less lost without the man at his side.

He slid into bed next to husband and laid on his back, looking up at the ceiling above him for a long time, mind racing. It was a very, very long time before his eyes slid shut.

* * *

Balder sat on his throne, Stormbreaker at hand. Loki refused still to walk up the steps, and stayed at the bottom, Clint next to him, the two of them watching as Einherjar dragged in members of the council, bound and gagged, to kneel before the crown. Steve and Sif stayed behind, watching without comment. 

Balder whistled and Loki and Clint both turned to him. Clint glanced at Loki and then nodded, and darted up the steps, going to Balder’s side.

“He still will not come to the throne?” Balder asked, almost amused, eyes still locked on the council below.

Clint shook his head. “I’m still surprised every time he comes in here. Bad memories and all. Anyway, we set to begin?”

Balder nodded, stroked a hand down his beard. “Have servants bring in chairs for the Princes,” he decided. “What potion did Loki decide upon?”

“ _Vist-sannar_ ,” Clint replied, pulling a vial out from his satchel and handing it over for Balder to investigate. Balder took the silver vial and uncorked it, pouring a bit of the green-speckled silver potion into his palm. He sniffed it and dipped a finger in it to check its viscosity, and then nodded and wiped the potion off on his shirt. He recorked the vial and handed it back, Clint sliding it into his satchel. It was a small bag that hung off his belt and was capable of holding almost anything while staying weightless. “We will get the answers we seek, King.”

“Good,” Balder said shortly, and waved Clint away. Clint tripped back down the stairs but caught himself before falling, sending Loki a grin when the prince rolled his eyes. Clint waved a servant forward, asking for chairs and wine to be brought out for the princes. The servant nodded and quickly obliged. Steve asked for another chair for Sif, who shook her head.

“I stand,” she told him. “I would not sit in the presence of traitors, Sire.”

Steve shifted uncomfortably and didn’t sit when the servant brought out his chair, but he did take the chalice of wine, sipping at it while Loki began constructing a small seidrspace within the throne room for the council members. It took him a few minutes to create a pearlescent green dome that he raised up into the air and then settled over the kneeling council members.

“No sound in or out,” Loki told them. “I reinforced the gags with seidr so that they cannot be removed by anyone other than myself or Clint. The dome is the same. The dome can only be breached by one of us. Is this acceptable, Balder?”

“Bring the first accused forth,” Balder boomed out, sprawling out over his throne, glaring down as Clint went up to the dome and stepped through the seidr, dragging out one of the council members a moment later. He threw them to the floor and pulled out the vial of truth potion, pulling down the gag and at Loki’s nod, Clint dipped his fingers into the neck of the vial and spread potion over the council member’s tongue. They struggled but subdued quickly as the potion began to work. “Your name?” Balder called down.

“Ryddling Vorson,” they replied.

“Your title?”

“Lord of my home, third seat in the King’s Council.”

Loki stepped forward, dressed in heavy green robes, neck laced with heavy gold finery, his long fingers covered in rings. He looked dark and furious. Next to Ryddling, Clint was clad in purple tunic and pants, reinforced with seidr, bow and quiver across his back, snake around his neck.

“Tell me, Vorson, who began this dissent?”

“King Thor,” Ryddling replied faintly. Loki’s lips curled down.

“And did you go along with him?”

“Not at first, no,” Ryddling said. “I heard no logic from him, but I listened because he was my King.”

“What did he tell you?”

“That you would kill him.”

Loki stepped back and sat down, shaking his head. “What else?” he asked, dropping his head to his hands. Above on his throne, Balder hefted Stormbreaker and came down the stairs, waving away a servant who brought him a chair. 

“Frigga came to us as well,” Ryddling volunteered, voice still faint and raspy. They looked absent, as if they did not know what they were saying, which was the precise purpose of the potion. “She echoed Thor’s claims of your treachery against Asgard, that any King brought upon the throne by him would have the same treason in his heart.” They faded off, but Balder did not care to hear any more.

“They planned this from the beginning,” Balder hissed, Loki sitting up and sighing. “Have you any more questions?”

“I would like to know why, but there has never been a satisfactory answer,” Loki muttered tiredly. “Kill them. We have twelve more to question.”

Balder cut off Ryddling’s head and servants came to drag the body and the head away.

Steve turned to Sif. “How many council members?” he asked.

“Thirteen, Sire,” she replied. Steve’s mouth turned down and he took a seat. “The number has varied between nine and seventeen. It is always an odd number to make certain there is a majority in any votes asked for by the King.”

Steve nodded, looking back and watching as Clint dragged out the next council member. “How are they chosen?”

“Generally appointed by the King. Bor, Odin’s father, was the first King of Asgard. He appointed the first council to advise him.” Sif paused for a moment and then bent down a bit to speak quietly into his ear, “I believe Balder will discontinue the tradition and instead appoint himself a few advisors. The council is an antiquated tradition.” She straightened up and turned her gaze back to Clint covering the traitorous tongue of a council member with the potion. “Merely my opinion, Sire.”

Steve smiled up at her. “Thank you,” he replied empathetically. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

The next seven council members answered the questions the same, offered up no new information, no voice in the hall besides Sif quietly telling Steve the differences in the seats and the different duties each council member had. Servants dutifully dragged out each corpse and dropped them into a pile. Sif explained that the corpses would be brought out later behind the council and their families brought forth to share in their shame. If Balder wished, he could strip each family of their wealth and their homes and send them to the dungeons, or even exile them from Asgard entirely. He could kill every single Aesir that carried a traitor’s blood and no one would try or wish to stop him. 

When Clint dragged forth the first of the two first seats of the council, it began to get truly interesting. 

“Your name?”

“Stagh Orastoson.”

“Your title?”

“Master of my house and first seat in the King’s council.”

“Do you know why you have been brought here today?”

“Because I serve under a false King.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How is Balder unfit for the throne?”

“He was given the throne by the traitorous son,” Stagh droned out, but his eyes spat fire, the first emotion any of them had seen from any of the council members. Clint held up the potion vial in question but Loki shook his head.

“Was there any dissent?”

“The only dissent was the orders we were given by the false-King.”

Loki opened his mouth to say something but Clint held up his hand. “Who do you serve?” Clint asked.

“Thor,” Stagh said, and then Balder cut off his head.

* * *

Loki threw a cup against the far wall and they all watched it shatter. He paced angrily in the small antechamber, hands fisted at his sides, anger boiling off him in thin streams of seidr. “What is even the _point?_ ” he finally asked all of them. “Everything we gain, Thor and Frigga already planned for. She was able to see the future and knew everything that we would attempt. They turned Asgard against us, turned my _home_ against me, and we have slaughtered the entire council for treason.” He stopped and looked at them. “What comes to Asgard next?”

Balder sighed. He’d long stripped out of his formal clothes and was in his linens, his bare feet propped up on the table, his tunic opened down to the middle of his chest, which was ruddy with drink. But when he spoke, his words were calm and measured and not slurred. “We have the Soul Stone,” he said, motioning to the Infinity Stones scattered on the table in front of them where Clint had put them. “We know there are no more schemes or plans from Thor and Frigga. Whatever they have planned, they are dead, and they will stay dead.”

Loki let out a deep breath and nodded.

“We are alive,” Balder pressed, looking around to Loki, to Clint, to Sif, to Steve. “We are here. We are what’s left. All Thor did, he is dead because of it. He faced his reckoning. This action of ours against a treacherous council has surely spread word across Asgard that I am no false King. I am here because of you and I will never forget that.” He leaned across the table and held out a hand to Loki, who paused for a moment and then pressed his fingers to Balder’s palm. “Brother, I swear this to you on my life, on my throne, upon my own seidr. Whatever has been done to you, to us, to Asgard, I will fix it.”

Loki nodded. “Thank you, brother,” he murmured. “Whatever Thor has plotted against Asgard, we will tolerate it no longer.” He took his hand back and pressed both of them to the table, leaning forward to look at all of them. "This ends now. I will tolerate these machinations no longer. Thor is dead and cannot control us from beyond the grave." His eyes fell to the Soul Stone and he grimaced. "All Thor has done is to gain back control. He worked to do it even past his death. I will not tolerate this any longer. I am tired of these schemes. This ends _now_."

Steve and Clint both nodded and Sif raised her spear in support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toss a comment to your writer!


	4. chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They spend time on Asgard. Steve comes to a realization. Clint wins a contest.

The week turned into a month. Steve went back to Earth a couple times, as did Clint. Steve brought Sif with him, introducing her to the Avengers, bringing in her expertise in battle to the discussion, and while Sif did not remember Valkyrie, she made fast friends with her and Natasha. Clint stayed a night with his family and then went to Wakanda to speak with T’Challa and Ramonda, and to ask Bucky and Sam if they wished to go to Asgard.

When he was home, another letter was delivered, again signed by the Swordsman. Clint read it, memorized it, tore it to pieces, and then burned the pieces. He called a few contacts and asked them to begin to look for the Swordsman, to find his brother, and to then contact him with the information. He waited until Laura and his kids were all asleep and then pulled up the floorboards and pulled out the phone he had hidden there a very, very long time ago. He charged it and then infused it with a bit of seidr to keep the battery from dying. Clint hid the phone in the satchel on his belt and resolutely put the thought of it and the letter from his mind so that Loki could not find it, not without searching for it.

Wakanda was easy enough. He talked with Ramonda, gave her Stephen Strange’s contact information—partly because her questions about time travel pertained to his area of expertise and partly because he thought it would be funny—and then found Bucky and Sam living in a small hut near a small pond, both the hut and the pond surrounded by a great deal of goats. It took some convincing, but they agreed to go to Asgard. Earth could survive without Captain America for a few days.

Bucky talked with Eir for two days straight. Sam spent the entire time pacing in the hall outside until an Einherjar on guard became fed up with him and demanded he at least sit down. Then the rumor of unruly Midgardians had spread through the castle, eventually finding Loki’s ears, and the prince made his way to the healing wing to find Sam sitting outside a door, glaring at the Einherjar glaring back at him. 

“What is the problem?” Loki asked of all of them.

Sam pushed to his feet. “Loki,” he sighed in relief. “It’s good to see you.”

“Is that so?” Loki replied, the Einherjar moving aside for him. “How fares Midgard?”

Sam snorted. “We’ve been in Wakanda since you all left. I don’t know how the rest of Earth is, but the inside of our hut was pretty nice.”

“Then that is all I care about,” Loki decided. He motioned for one of the soldiers to bring him a chair, and after they did, he sat down across from Sam, motioning for the man to sit as well. Sam did and then after a moment, put his head in his hands. “I’ve been told that you and Bucky arrived yesterday, and that he has been with Eir since very soon after your arrival.”

Sam nodded.

“She will be with him for awhile yet. Do you intend to stay here until they are finished?”

Sam looked up at him through his brow. “Where else would I be?”

“Fair,” Loki relented. “Would you like company?”

Sam dropped his hands from his face and snorted. “The Prince of Asgard intends to stay with me, in this hall, until Bucky and Eir finish?”

“Oh, most certainly not. But I can have more, if you will, kindlier looking Einherjar brought forth, or another guest of the crown.” Loki smiled thinly at him and Sam chuckled a bit, shaking his head.

“They can hear you, you know,” Sam told him.

“Yes, I am aware they have functioning ears,” Loki replied. “I am also aware that these soldiers were rather rude to a guest of the palace.” At the end of the hall, the various gathered Einherjar all shifted uncomfortably. “Not only a guest, but a friend of the Prince’s. Surely it would not be something they would like the King to hear about.”

Sam turned his head to see the Einherjar muttering between themselves and he shook his head. “Always a plan with you,” he said to Loki, who merely tossed his hair over his shoulder and gave him a smug smile. “Send whoever you want. I’m not moving.”

“Very well,” Loki said, pushing to his feet. One of the Einherjar scurried forward to take his chair. “I assume they told you the bathroom is down the hall.” Sam’s eyes went wide and he darted down the hall, Loki watching with amusement. “Where are the Skrulls?”

“In their rooms, your Highness,” the Einherjar replied, his voice low.

“Very well. Bring them here. They can sit with him.” With that, Loki swept out of the hall and back to his duties.

* * *

There was a room in Asgard where only two others besides the King and the Prince were allowed entry. Much to Loki’s amusement, those two others were human, or had been.

Loki and Balder had been holed up in the private room for nearly four days when Clint returned from Midgard. Steve had already returned and was spending time with Sam and Bucky, Sif an ever present shadow at his side. Clint did not even bother to knock, merely turned the doorknob that would turn for almost none other, and walked in, waving uncomfortably to Loki and Balder.

Loki surged to his feet and met Clint at the door, sliding his hand over Clint’s neck and pressing their foreheads together. Clint leaned into him, eyes sliding shut.

 _I have missed you as my shadow,_ Loki murmured, fingers stroking over both Clint’s cheek and his mind, and he pulled back, green eyes flickering over Clint’s face. _Balder is far poorer company than you._

Clint snorted and pulled back from Loki to incline his head to the King. Loki pulled him to the table and Clint sat at Loki’s right hand, Loki spreading out all of their various scrolls and books and various bits of information out all over the table. Loki watched as Clint slowly and doggedly read through all of it, Balder settling back in his own chair to take a short nap.

 _How goes it?_ Clint asked, taking a brief break from reading after they’d all sat in silence for a few hours.

Loki sighed. _Thor worked very hard to change Asgard in his own image._ He motioned to the copy of Frigga’s book of weavings on the table. _She foresaw everything and wrote down her plans in that book. Luckily, or perhaps not, my copy was self-updating, and kept up with her prophecies. She knew what was going to happen and worked against it._

Clint shook his head. _You don’t work against fate like that,_ he replied. _The more you work against it, the more it comes to fruition. She couldn’t have foreseen everything, anyway._

Loki just shook his head. _We will never know the truth regardless. All we can do is guess._ He grimaced at the thought and then settled back to watch Clint continue to read through everything they had collected. He and Balder had found more disloyal Aesir and put them to trial, and the entire Realm seemed to be in uproar over it. It was exhausting trying to figure out who was loyal and who was attempting to pull the wool over their eyes in order to betray them again, but Loki was confident they had found everyone.

Clint continued to read and Loki continued to think.

“Going by the looks on your faces,” Balder said through a jaw-cracking yawn a while later, “Hopefully you’ve figured something out. Good. I’m going to bed.” He stood up and looked between them. “Perhaps the two of you can find me some advisors as well.”

He tipped an invisible hat to them and left the room, the door slamming shut behind him. Clint took out his hearing aids since it was just the two of them and dropped them on the table, enjoying the silence. 

_He told me he wishes for the Warriors Three to be his advisors._

Well that was certainly something. 

_Doubt you’re going to let that happen._

_Did you know,_ Loki began, deceptively calm, eyes hard, _that Thor used to threaten to give me to Fandral to get me to behave? They call him The Lover, you know. The best lover in all of Asgard, they said. But he always hated me. Fandral knows how to please and he also knows how to make it hurt._

Clint considered that. _Well, not like the guy can fuck you now,_ he offered up, and didn’t manage to dodge the slap Loki sent at the side of his head. _Ow! Okay, fine. Fandral’s out. What about Volstagg and Hogun?_ He held up a hand. _Actually, have you asked Sif? She knows them best._

 _Steve and Sif are still upon Midgard,_ Loki replied stiffly, pushing to his feet and pacing behind the chairs. _But when they return, we will ask. I do not wish for my dead brother’s closest allies to be hissing in Balder’s ear! I will not have it! Let them rot._

 _Alright,_ Clint agreed. _You know, maybe Balder was just offering them up because you know them? He wants you to come back to Asgard, you know._

 _If he puts those fools in any position of power, I will run from Asgard as fast as my feet can carry me,_ Loki replied bitterly, moving around the room to pour himself a glass of wine and drink it all in a few long swallows. _We will ask Sif,_ he decided, turning his head back to look at Clint. _Balder is a strong King who deserves strength behind him._

Clint smiled at him. _What’s it like?_ he asked. _To have a brother that cares?_

Loki thought about it, mind spinning. _Strange,_ he finally decided. _Uncomfortable, almost. I keep expecting him to hit me._ He poured himself more wine and stared down into the cup. _He takes nothing and expects nothing. I can barely stand the strangeness of it all._ Loki shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts and lifted the jug of wine. _Accompany me to my chambers. I intend to drink myself to sleep._

Clint slid his hearing aids back in and after making sure he hadn’t left anything behind, obediently followed Loki out of the room.

They made quick time back to Loki’s rooms, where Clint helped Loki into sleeping clothes and then changed himself, the two of them curling up on the couch together, Clint nearly in Loki’s lap. He’d taken his hearing aids out, left them on the bedside table. Loki summoned over a small table and rested the wine jug on it while he pet Clint’s hair and stared at the ceiling. 

_If Thanos finds me,_ Loki finally said, _I would rather die than be his._

Clint squeezed his eyes shut. He really wanted people to stop asking him to kill them. _Of course,_ he said finally. _If there is no escape, I will not let him have you._

_I will do the same in return, of course._

_Of course._

* * *

Loki awoke the next morning to a pounding headache and hair in his mouth. He spit it out and sat up, looking around his bedroom. Then, after a moment, he looked over to see Sif in his bed. It took a few seconds for his mind to catch up and then he shoved her out of bed and got out himself, glaring down at her. The movement had both Clint and Steve waking up as well, the two of them looking bleary-eyed around the room. 

“Is the sun even up?” Clint asked, a bit too loud, and then when he realized he wouldn’t be able to hear the answer anyway, he laid back down again and closed his eyes. Steve shook him back awake a moment later and handed him his aids. 

“What is this she-devil doing in my bed?” Loki asked.

“We arrived late,” Steve told him, watching as Sif stood up and brushed herself off. At least she was wearing appropriate attire: a long sleeved shirt and shorts that went to her knees. She glared at Loki and crossed her arms over her chest. “Her bed hadn’t been made up yet and I don’t know where the sheets are kept, so I told her to sleep in here with us.”

“We have a couch, do we not?” Loki asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you not a Prince? Call for a servant to fix your problem.”

“Clint doesn’t sleep on one, why should she?” Steve shot back. “What’s the difference? They’re both no better than dogs to you anyway, so why would it matter?”

Sif’s chin raised. Clint yawned. 

“Because Clint did not regularly try to _kill me_ for a thousand years,” Loki spat out. He pointed at the doorway. “If I find you in my bed again, I will slit your throat, _Lady_ Sif.”

She swallowed and got to her feet to bow and left the room in a hurry.

Loki slowly lowered his hand and turned to look at Steve. “There is history here,” Loki said slowly, dangerously, his tone poisonous. “History that you do not know and do not seem to care about. Sif is a capable warrior and she is fiercely loyal. She _also_ gave the same loyalty to Thor that she now gives to you. She spent hundreds of years attempting to stab me in the back. It is no more than my quick wit that kept me from perishing upon her blade.” He took a step closer to the bed, eyes intent on Steve. “Did you know that Thor would sometimes delegate the task of killing me in other lives? Do you know how many times Sif _jumped_ at the chance?”

“Loki,” Steve tried, but Loki shook his head. 

“Keep her as your guard, if you wish. I doubt she will kill you. Whatever point you were attempting to make, it has been noted.”

Before Steve could say anything, Loki spun around and stalked into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. 

Clint yawned again. “Good goin’, Cap,” he said, reaching over to pat Steve on the arm. “Hope it was worth it.”

Steve shook his head. “All I wanted was for him to see how weird it is to sleep with someone you’re not married to,” he muttered. 

Clint shrugged. “I think that you still want to act like you’re in a relationship with another human. Social norms are different here. Loki is just as confused by your discomfort as you are.” He sighed and laid back down in the pillows. “You’re not on Earth anymore, Cap. Probably time to stop acting like you are.”

Clint put his hearing aids on the bedside table and was quickly asleep. Steve looked at the closed bathroom door and then at the open bedroom one, and sighed. He slid out of bed and went after Sif, who was curled up on the couch. 

“Sire,” she said, a bit surprised, as Steve dropped into the armchair adjacent to the couch. Sif sat up. “I can swear to you that I mean no harm—”

“I know,” Steve interrupted tiredly, waving her off. “You won’t kill him. I’m here to ask you about relationships on Asgard. I’m obviously missing something.”

Sif sent him a sidelong glance as she gathered the blanket up over her chest. “This seems to be a turn,” she remarked. “But very well, Sire. I will start with friendships, and go from there.” Steve nodded. “Friendships on Asgard are different than on Midgard. A friendship is perhaps the closest relationship an Aesir can have. Each Aesir knows many, as one must by living for so long, but only trusts few. We Aesir are not stingy with our affection. I assume you have seen Aesir sitting in one another’s laps and holding hands and kissing on the mouth?”

Steve nodded. “I just thought everyone was...very open,” he muttered, a bit embarrassed. 

Sif gave him a tolerant smile. “All of those things are common between friends. Friends regularly sleep in the same bed, often with a married couple, without it being sexual, and it is all rather fine and normal. I doubt you can know someone for a thousand years and not see their genitals a few times, after all. There are different rules for servants and soldiers, of course, but so it is with everything. Do I need to explain any further?”

Steve rubbed a hand over his face and then back through his hair. “Loki said I would understand after we were married,” he finally muttered. “And I think I understand less.”

Sif nodded slowly. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally said, “I have known Loki a very long time. I never once liked him. I still don’t. Doubt I ever will. But what I do know is that Loki is like water. He is always moving, always faster than you would expect, and he is never thinking what you would expect.” Sif looked over her shoulder to look into the empty bedroom door behind her, and then turned her attention back to Steve. “If I know Loki, which I do, either he wanted you to _ask_ , or he simply thought you did not care.”

“I _do_ care, though!” Steve exclaimed. “I love him! I _married_ him, for God’s sake! I stayed by his side through everything that happened over the past few years. I left my home for him.”

“Did you?” Sif motioned to the room around them. “What have you done to show him any of that? I met the Valkyrie, and she told me that you refused her offering of being your personal guard. You have not once properly met a single person here. You cannot be a Prince if you refuse to learn _how._ ”

Steve sighed, leaned his head back against the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Alright. Everyone is touchy, got it. What’s next?”

“Shield-brothers are soldiers who have pledged themselves to one another. They share a bond of battle that goes beyond family or friend. Shield-brothers often choose one another over marriage or any other obligation. By my bond of fealty to you, you are my shield-brother. Clint and Loki are shield-brothers.”

“Was Thor your shield-brother?”

Sif nodded without hesitation. “The Thor I knew when we were younger, yes. The Thor in recent years, before his death? He was a stranger to me.”

Steve nodded as he thought about it. “I knew men like that, men I would have died for. One of them I laid down my shield for, and for another I refused to pick it back up again. Men who came before anyone else.”

“What happened to them?”

“They died,” Steve said softly, “while I was in the ice. I barely recognize the one I have left. The two of them love each other, and I’m left out of that.” He blinked a few times. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Sif repeated.

“Bucky and Sam love each other.” Steve ducked his head to slide his hands into his hair. “I never—I look at him, sometimes, and I don’t even know who he is. I know his face better than I know my own. And I see the way they look at each other and I see the same in Clint and Loki. I don’t see a space for myself there.” He looked at her and Sif calmly met his gaze. “I understand,” Steve said faintly. “I think I finally get it.”

“I am glad for it,” Sif replied. “Loki did not marry him. He married you. I was at the ceremony, watched the entire realm bloom and watched as the sun did not set for three days. If there was no place for you in Loki’s heart, none of that would have happened. Whatever your worry is, Sire, I can promise that it is unfounded.”

Steve snorted and shook his head. “I didn’t mean to make you my therapist,” he muttered.

“I am here for whatever capacity you have need of me, Sire,” Sif replied simply. “It is my oath.”

Steve nodded. “Thank you, then. For everything you’ve done and for all you will do.” He stood up and glanced at the dark skies outside. “I appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Sif said, and she laid back down on the couch as Steve made his way back into the bedroom, sliding back into bed, opening his arms when Clint, still asleep, turned to him and curled up against his side. Whenever Loki came out of the bathroom, Steve did not know, as he was asleep.

* * *

Sif shook her head. “None of the three are particularly savvy in the political realm,” she told them, picking up her wine and taking a small sip. The five of them were sitting in the same private room that Loki and Balder had taken up residence in for the past few days. Loki and Balder had changed the spells on the door to allow her entry. Balder sat at the head of the table, with Clint and Loki on one side, Steve and Sif on the other. “Hogun is the most cunning on the battlefield, Volstagg is the strongest, and Fandral is the quickest. None of them are suited to any place other than where they are now.”

Balder nodded. “Good,” he replied, clearly pleased. “That is what I wanted you to tell me.”

Sif glanced at Loki then back at Balder. “Was this a test?”

“Yes,” Balder said simply. “Your loyalty is to those in this room. You cannot be divided in these matters.”

“I know my oath,” Sif replied, her voice tight. “I was the one who made it. There is no question in my heart of who I belong to.”

“Good,” Balder repeated. “Loki believes I need three advisors. He still refuses to be one of them, and, for _whatever_ reason, won’t let me have Clint, so that leaves Aesir.” Both Clint and Loki simultaneously rolled their eyes. “They will have to be thoroughly vetted to be certain they have no contacts with any who knew the traitors, which tightens the circle significantly.” He sighed.

“We have been having the same conversation for four days,” Loki muttered tiredly, rubbing his fingers over his brow. “I have been mostly off-realm for three years. Nearly four, in fact. Sif knows the political landscape of Asgard better than I.”

Sif smiled, just a bit, and then covered it by taking another drink of wine. Loki and Clint rolled their eyes simultaneously again.

“Wait,” Steve said before Sif could say anything. “What exactly does an advisor do? Why would you need three of them? How is this different from the council?”

Clint and Loki exchanged looks while Balder replied, “Councils are used to delegate responsibility from a King. They solve minor disputes with other realms, some budgetary items, and the like. An advisor is the closest companion a King may have. They are the voice in the ear of the King, his most trusted compatriot. Loki suggests I have three of them to keep any one of them from becoming too sure of their place, or to keep them from dissent amongst themselves. Three is also a good number, a solid number. It is lucky.”

Steve nodded and looked across the table at Loki. “The more advisors, the more risk.”

“Of course,” Loki replied.

“Which means they have to be untouchable, unwavering in their loyalty.”

“Of course,” Loki said again.

“So, why do you not take one of the positions?”

Loki bared his teeth in a grimace. “I want nothing to do with Asgard,” he hissed out. “I spend every minute here wishing I was somewhere else, _anywhere_ else. I have nowhere else in the entire galaxy that holds worse memories for me. And you believe I wish to _stay_ and be at the service of _another_ King?”

Steve scratched at the stubble growing along his chin. He hadn’t shaved in a few days and was considering growing a beard. He thought it might look good. “I think you hold more regard for Asgard than you want to admit,” he said finally. They all knew Loki was lying but he was the only one who dared to say anything. “I think you love this place and you want to see it flourish. I think Thor burned that out of you, or you thought he did, and it’s coming back.” Steve motioned to the room they were in. “Someone who didn’t care about the fate of a place wouldn’t spend a month trying to make it better.”

Loki got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Clint made to go after him but then decided against it, retaking his seat at the table.

“He won’t be an advisor,” Clint said quietly into the silence. “It holds too many bad memories.” He shook his head. “Whatever you think Thor did to him, it was worse. I don’t think you’re wrong, Cap, but I don’t know if he’ll ever admit it.” He paused for a moment to look up at Balder. “I remember an Aesir by the name of Brige. Have you considered her?”

Balder stroked his beard. “I have not. Sif, what is her second name?”

“Ofansdottir, I believe. Ofan was a blacksmith for the Einherjar for many centuries. I carried a spear of his for nearly 300 years.”

“What is her profession?”

“I believe she follows in her father’s footsteps, sir.”

“Put her on the list. Have you anyone else, little Clint?”

Clint reached across the table and stole Sif’s wine. She glared at him but he ignored it. “Nold. He studied seidr under the Vanir, did he not? I remember seeing him in battle and he turned the opponents weapons into fire in their hands.”

“How do you know of this?” Sif interrupted. “You were not at that battle. It was 2- or 300 years ago.”

“I know everything Loki knows,” Clint said simply, turning his attention to her. “I know a lot more than he does, in fact. You believe the King of Asgard takes advice from a lowly human?”

Sif considered that, looked between Clint and Balder, and then shook her head. “There is something about you, something different,” she replied. “Something I have never seen before.”

Clint raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m extremely sexy,” he told her and flexed a bicep, flashing her a saucy grin.

“Who else?” Balder questioned, ignoring Clint’s antics, although he had a small smile on his face. He paused for a moment and thought, looking at Steve. “I would advise, Steven, that you talk with Loki before you tell her.”

Steve nodded and did not say anything. Sif frowned a bit but then her face cleared as Clint began speaking.

“Have you considered someone outside of Asgard? Someone who has no history with any of this, someone who can’t be loyal to Thor.”

“Who are you thinking?”

“Loki has two brothers. Helblindi and Byleistr. Surely Helblindi is being readied for the throne. Laufey is old, very old, even older than Odin was. You already returned the Casket to them, retained a truce. How else to honor that truce than by bringing one of their house here to be your advisor?”

Balder sat back in his chair, stunned, mind racing.

The door creaked open and Loki slipped back in, carrying a rather large chalice full of mead. He made himself a plate of meats and cheeses from the table next to the door and then sat back at the table, picking through it, tearing meat into shreds as Balder considered Clint’s idea.

“Which one of your ideas was this?” Balder finally asked.

Clint shrugged. “I don’t think there’s a difference anymore,” he muttered.

Steve snorted at that. “He’s not wrong,” he supplied. “Sometimes I can’t even tell which one I’m talking to.”

“I will think upon this,” Balder decided. “We will reconvene tomorrow.” Everyone at the table nodded and Balder pushed to his feet, resting both hands on the table as he looked at the four of them. “My choice of advisors is those in this room,” he told them sincerely, looking each of them in the eye. “If I must, I will settle for second-best. A King only takes second-best when he is given no other choice, so, Loki, I ask of you to reconsider your stance.”

Loki turned his attention back to the plate in front of him.

Balder excused himself, door shutting quietly behind him.

“Is it true, then, that you are the best archer on Midgard?” Sif asked.

Clint shrugged. “Probably,” he shrugged. “I carried the title of the best marksman on Earth for awhile, but that was just because I was in the circus. There’s probably someone better than me, but I’d doubt it. Never met them, anyway.”

“Kate Bishop,” Steve offered up, a bit teasing. “She’s better than you.”

Clint leaned forward and pointed at him. “You’re not wrong. She’s fuckin’ amazing.”

Sif nodded. “Should we not have a contest, then? The most skilled of Asgard’s archers against you?”

Clint grinned at her. “Oh, you’re on.”

* * *

Clint was excitedly showing off his Aesir bow and arrows to a group of Einherjar while Loki and Steve and Sif hung back, the two princes sitting in a small shaded area off to the side, Sif standing behind Steve. Clint grinned up at one of the Aesir and Loki’s fingers tightened on the arm of his chair. Steve reached over and patted his hand, then stroked his thumb over the back of Loki’s hand. 

_What are the rules of the contest?_ Steve asked, giving Loki a warm look.

Loki glanced over at him and gave him a tight smile. _It is all for fun. The rules are only no cheating and to use no seidr-enhanced weapons._ His gaze went back to Clint, but Steve squeezed his hand so Loki looked at him. Loki raised an eyebrow at him.

_Do you remember your fantasy about being fucked in front of Asgard?_

Loki’s mouth curled in a slow smile. _I do, my Captain._

_And if I asked you to go to your knees before me, right now, what would you do?_

Loki’s fingers dug into the arms of his chair yet again, but this time, for an entirely different reason. _If it was ordered of me, I would suppose I would have no choice but to comply._

“Sif,” Steve said, “Go see if they need any help.”

“Of course, Sire,” Sif said, and she walked away to meet up with the Einherjar around Clint.

Steve’s attention turned back to Loki. _I want you to close your eyes and picture the exact scene we’re in. Everyone is busy. I want you to imagine yourself going to your knees in front of me, where everyone can see._

Loki whimpered, shifting in his chair, head falling back, mouth falling open. _I would look up at you and beg to suck your cock._

_And?_

_I would reach into your pants and pull it out. I would beg you—Steve, please. My mouth is empty. My throat aches. My tongue is wet. I_ need _it. My Captain’s cock is all that can calm me._

_Calm you? What do you need calmed from, Loki?_

_My mind is never quiet. My seidr is only calm when you are near. My mouth aches when you do not own it. Please, my Captain, fuck my mouth._

Steve smiled at him, a bit indulgently. _You would say all of that in front of the Einherjar? Have them know what a cock slut their prince is?_

Loki whimpered again, licking his lips. _I want them to know,_ he said. _I want them to see how you own me, the power that you hold over me._

_The power a human holds over you._

Loki shifted in his chair, bulge obvious in his pants. Glancing around, Steve made sure no one was watching them, and he pulled his chair closer to Loki’s, reaching a hand over to cup Loki’s cock through his pants. Loki’s hips pulsed and he tried to cover Steve’s hand with his own but Steve’s quiet voice in his mind stopped him.

 _Stay still. Keep your hands on the arms of the chair. Only I am allowed to touch you._ Steve considered that and then smiled a bit at the thought. _What if I told you you were no longer allowed to masturbate? That only my hands could bring you off?_

 _Oh, fuck,_ Loki whined. _I want that,_ he said without reservation. _I promised you I am yours and yours alone._ With that, his hips twitched one last time as he came in his pants, gasping Steve’s name out quietly as he did so.

Steve removed his hand from the wet spot on Loki’s pants and slid it onto Loki’s thigh, turning his attention back to the Einherjar around them. No one had noticed, or at least, no one had paid any attention after realizing what they were doing. He shifted a bit uncomfortably in his own seat, but he could wait.

 _I meant it, you know,_ Steve said, as Loki calmed down enough to open his eyes and look around, eyes landing unerringly on Clint. _You’re not to touch yourself anymore._

Connected as they were, Steve could feel as Loki’s wet cock let out another pathetic blurt of come at the order. Loki nodded immediately. _Of course, my Captain. My body is yours to use as you wish._

“Good,” Steve said out loud, and reached over to hand Loki a cold mug of beer. “Sif,” he called, relaxing in his chair and sliding his hand back up to an indecent height on Loki’s thigh as Loki disappeared the mess in his pants with a wave of his fingers. Sif turned back to him. “How much longer until it begins?”

“Mere minutes, Sire,” she replied. “They are measuring the durability of the weapons.”

“I made Clint’s bow,” Loki murmured, almost to himself. “I made it to be the finest bow in all of Asgard. I went to Nidavellir for the arrowheads, Vanaheim for the bowstring, cut down an Alfheim tree with my own hands to carve the bow and arrows from it.”

“He deserves it,” Steve said. “He needs a strong weapon to keep you safe.”

Green eyes flickered over him but Loki did not say anything.

An Einherjar turned to them a minute later, Sif separating from the group and coming back to stand behind Steve’s chair. “Do the princes ask for the rules or have any to add?”

“Nay,” Loki replied. “Get on with it.”

“Aye!” the Einherjar cried out. “We begin! Archers, line up!” Clint tipped an imaginary hat to Loki and then followed the few Einherjar archers to the stone pillars they were all to aim from. Steve and Loki were over to the side of the targets, well out of range, and in a good vantage point to see both the archers and what they aimed at. A few Einherjar scurried across the field to set up targets. The first were plain, and the rest were infused with seidr to make them move or jump or do all number of unpredictable things.

The archers would go one at a time. Two Einherjar went first, easily loosing their arrows into the exact center of the targets. When it was Clint’s turn, Loki leaned forward, shoulders sagging with a bit of relief when Clint’s arrow unerringly found the target. One Einherjar went after him, arrow a hair off center, but Loki barely paid attention, eyes intent on Clint joking with the Einherjar around him and balancing an arrow on the tip of his nose and trying to goad one of the stiff-looking Einherjar into doing it. A cheer rose up when that same Einherjar successfully balanced an arrow on his forehead.

“Next target!” the crier called out. The Einherjar and Clint turned down range, readying their weapons at the mark. The new targets moved up and down and each contestant had to put two arrows into it, one at the top of the bullseye and one at the bottom. The first two Einherjar succeeded easily, as did Clint, and the third sent both arrows into the bottom of the target. 

The next target replicated a rabbit bolting across the bottom of the field, and each contestant was tasked with firing three arrows at it: one through the eye, one through its ribs, and one right at the base of its tail. Clint, for the first time, perked up.

The first Einherjar shot three arrows in quick succession, pinning the rabbit-target to the wall behind, and the second Einherjar followed suit, third arrow missing by a hair. Clint slid three arrows into his bow and took in a deep breath, and by the time he let it out, three arrows were embedded in the seidr-rabbit. A great cheer went up and the third Einherjar bowed out, bowing to Steve and Loki before exiting the competition field. 

The fourth and final target was unpredictable. It would hover in the air then suddenly dart off to the side, or spin around and go high up into the air, or even try to dart off the playing field. Each competitor was given two arrows. The goal was to fire the first arrow into the center of the target and then to split that first arrow straight down the center. 

The first Einherjar managed to pierce the center of the target with the first arrow, but only clipped the outer edge of it with the second arrow. The next Einherjar got the first arrow off center and then missed completely with the second. Clint spent a moment watching the target and then nocked his first arrow, and he loosed it and then the second one within less than a second. There was a loud thud as the second arrow cleanly split through the first one in the exact center of the target. 

The Einherjar roared, stomping their feet, cheering Clint, raising him up on their shoulders and parading him around. They demanded far more difficult shots from him, ones where he was blindfolded or held upside-down or distance shots, where they took him out of eyesight and had him fire an arrow into an unseen target. He never missed, the exuberant roar of the gathered Einherjar growing with every perfect shot. 

Loki smiled smugly and settled deeper into his chair, throwing Steve a thoroughly pleased look. He called for a servant to bring all of the Einherjar a round of mead. “In honor of my champion!” he called out, and the soldiers raised Clint up on their shoulders again and cried out their praises. 

_Asgard isn’t so bad,_ Steve mused.

Loki gave him a sidelong look and the ends of his lips curled up, just a bit. _No, it isn’t, is it,_ Loki replied, almost as if he’d just come to the same conclusion.

* * *

A very long ways away, in a very large ship in the middle of cold, dark space, Thanos sat in the control room, reading over a message that had been sent to him. It was written in a language he could understand but not speak or read, so it was slow going. But he understood the gist of it. 

Loki, the hateful beast he was, was planning a war. A war to end all wars. A war where Thanos would surely not come out the victor. A war that brought every living being in the Nine Realms and, perhaps even beyond, into one battle. 

A war that Thanos had no intention of losing. 

He closed the tablet and looked back out the front window of his ship, looking out into the black that stretched far and wide. Thor had shown him much, so much. He knew what he had to do. A lesser Titan would not be capable, but Thanos had the strength and the courage. 

On his hand, the Infinity Gauntlet caught the light, the Reality Stone glinting red. So far, he had found none of the others, all of his information giving false leads, some of them having died in the process, but he was certain that this one would not fail him. 

“Gamora,” he called, and she was brought before him, furious and spitting. “Daughter. Where is the Soul Stone?”

It took only a few moments of the Reality Stone augmenting her mind for Gamora to blink and then look up at him. Thanos missed it, sometimes, when Gamora used to look at him like a father and not like an enemy. But there were battles to be won. 

“Vormir,” she told him, and he pulled the illusion away so she could see what she had done. 

“Very well,” Thanos said, and called for the navigator to set course for Vormir. “You will go with me, daughter.”

Gamora snarled at him, tears in her eyes, but Thanos waved his hand and the slaves pulled her away. 

He looked back out into the black, endless and stretching on forever. 

He would bring down the inevitability of space down on Loki and those who dared stand against him. He would fix everything, no matter the obstacles in his way. He would destroy the entire Nine Realms and all the rest of them. He would grant them mercy by taking their lives. But first, he would kill Loki, and then he would bring peace.


	5. chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three go to Hel. Sif learns something. Everyone on Midgard is working to help the cause.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bonus chapter for us quarantined/self isolated folks in these dark times. i'll go back to regular saturday postings after this, just thought i'd toss a little something extra out there for everyone. enjoy!
> 
> thank you to fallowsthorn for the correction

“The journey _to_ Helheim is easy enough,” Loki informed him while he reset his cloak over his shoulders in the mirror. “It is not meant for mortal feet, but it is easy.” Behind him, Clint was packing a bag, and Steve was leaning against the side of the bed, arms crossed over his chest. “Return is far more difficult. Hel tests you. It is almost impossible not to look back.”

“I looked back,” Clint offered up. “Hela couldn’t take me because my soul doesn’t belong to me. I doubt that would stop her a second time.” He shrugged. “Doubt she’ll be interested in me, though, once she sees what’s on the table.”

The three of them had been deliberating for most of the morning on whether or not Steve should go with them. Loki was in the camp that he shouldn’t, Clint didn’t care, and Steve was insistent he go. They’d excused Sif from the conversation, which had delved into a conversation about what they would have to eventually tell her, and given that it wasn’t Steve’s to tell, he’d given into Loki’s idea that they wait. They had to talk to Hela first, at least. Loki had had an idea about how they could gain her armies in the upcoming war against Thanos and it was far too important to leave to chance. None of them had told Balder where they were going, and Clint had commented that both Princes going into Helheim was probably a pretty bad move, which had only strengthened Loki’s argument that Steve shouldn’t go, and had merely made Steve more insistent on going.

Steve held out his right hand, palm up. The Power Stone pulsed briefly, Loki pausing and then turning back to look at it. “Hela respects power, right?” Steve asked. “What’s more powerful than this?”

Slowly, very slowly, Loki smiled.

* * *

The three of them stood in front of the gates to Hel. It was as cold as it had been the time before, and the gate and walls were as tall as ever. It was silent, calm almost, the shore before the storm.

Loki stepped up to the gates and knocked.

A few minutes later, they opened, the three of them standing back as Hela and Fenrir exited Helheim. She looked as tall and as close to death as ever, bringing forth chairs for them to sit upon, just on their side of the line. Loki sat in the middle, Steve on his left, Clint on his right. Fenrir sniffed all of them and then sat next to Hela.

Steve shivered, glanced at Loki and Clint, who both looked equally bored with the theatrics. But Loki smiled. “Sister,” he said. “How pleasant to see you again.”

Hela’s mouth cracked into a smile. “Would you like me to lie and say it is pleasant to see you as well, Loki?”

“I suppose there are better things for us to do than lie to one another,” Loki replied, almost thoughtfully. “I am here to see how we can broker a deal.”

“You already know what I want,” Hela informed him, her tone low. “Is that why you brought your husband and your little pet? To kiss them both goodbye before you give them up?”

Loki didn’t look impressed. “You attempted to give us an impossible decision,” he mused, slowly tapping his fingers along the carved arm of his chair. “A soul for a soul, as they say,” and he pulled out the Soul Stone.

Hela’s eyes went wide.

Loki’s mouth curved in a dark smile. “Oh, I see you already know of this. It is such a pity, you know, that you’re locked down here in Hel and have not heard that Loki always gets what he wants. _I_ always get what I want. I wanted my brother dead, I wanted freedom, I wanted _revenge,_ and I have all of it. Now, I want it all to end, and to do that, I need your armies. If I have to send an army to get it, then I will. Or, Hela, we can bargain.”

“You wish for my armies in exchange for the Soul Stone?”

“No,” Loki told her. “I wish for your armies for the possibility of the Soul Stone.” Hela frowned and Loki tossed the Soul Stone up into the air and caught it again. “Do you know what manner of power you would wield with this? You could pull souls into Hel instead of binding them to the walls. You could command each soul of every dead being from the rest of the Nine. Double the power. Double the strength. Why, you would be the most fearsome Queen, wouldn’t you?”

“Why would you give me this?” Hela asked, eyes still intent on the Soul Stone in Loki’s fingers.

“After Thanos is dead, I have use only for the Tesseract. I care little about what happens to the rest of the Infinity Stones after that. I could, of course, become Keeper for them, hide them away in locations only I know, but there is no fun in that, is there? Instead, I would put them out into the world, let them sow the seeds of chaos. If you do not give me your armies, Hela, I will hide this Stone so far from you that you could live for the rest of time and you would never even come close to it.”

“All of the undead in exchange for one Infinity Stone?” Hela shook her head. “A poor bargain on my part.”

“You brokered no different a bargain for Thor’s soul.”

Hela grimaced. So she had. Loki watched in amusement as she desperately searched for a way out of the deal. She could say no, of course, but the lure of an Infinity Stone was hard to deny. Impossible, almost. Which was what Loki was counting on.

“How do I know your bargain to be true?” Hela finally asked. Steve reached out with his right hand, Power Stone embedded in his palm. Hela’s eyes went wide again and she breathed out, “What _are_ you? How many of those damn rocks do you have?”

“We have five of the six,” Loki replied mildly, mouth curling up in amusement. “Thanos has the Reality Stone. I have both Aesir and Midgardian scientists and seidrmadrs working on a way to counteract it, or to at least know when the reality around you is fabricated.” His eyes flashed red and Hela stiffened. “We are going to win, Hela, with or without your armies. I am merely giving you a chance to be part of the fight.”

“Then I will be part of the fight,” she decided, pushing to her feet. “And you will give me the Soul Stone at the end of it all, when I have Thanos’s soul shackled at my feet, his body joining the collection of his Children and his hounds.” Hela held out a hand.

Loki stood as well, Clint shadowing him, Steve following a beat later. Loki handed Clint the Soul Stone and slid his fingers into Hela’s. “You will know when it is time,” he told her, and Hela nodded. Loki dropped his hand and Hela turned back to return to Hel, but Loki’s voice stopped her. “The Stone is not a promise. I wish to make that clear.”

“I understand,” Hela replied, and swept into Helheim, Fenrir padding behind her, and the gates closed after.

Clint disappeared the Soul Stone and shrugged. “Could’ve gone worse. You believe her?”

“Not for a moment,” Loki replied, turning his back on Helheim and out over the path they all must tread. “But I am not the trusting sort.” He sighed. “Are we ready?”

“Yup,” Clint replied, and turned to Steve, who looked resolved and held less tension in his shoulders than before. “Whatever you do, do not stop. Your feet stay on the path and your eyes stay ahead. There are going to be untold horrors and every secret desire you’ve ever had on both sides of that path. Hela will use whatever means necessary to get you to turn back. If you do, you are lost to us.” He glanced at the closed gates and then back up at Steve. “There _might_ be a way to get you out of there if you look back, but don’t count on it. Look forward and do not falter.”

Loki stepped out first, Steve behind him, Clint taking up the rear.

It grew colder, cold enough that shivering didn’t keep him warm. Cold like the ice they found him in and dragged him out of. Cold like every time he’d walked outside in winter and just for a moment, forgot where he was, forgot _when_ he was. Cold that made his lungs hurt, made his fingers ache, made his chest squeeze.

He heard Bucky’s voice first, kept his eyes on the back of Loki’s head. “Steve,” Bucky begged. “They found me. HYDRA found me. They’re going to put me in the Chair. You have to help me.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for just a second and kept walking, looking straight ahead. Then there was Thor, telling him he was going to use Mjolnir to break all of his bones for touching what was his, going to strike him with lightning until he couldn’t hear or see or move, going to rip him to pieces with his bare hands. 

Then—

His mom. He hadn’t heard her voice in probably a century. Or eighty or ninety years, he didn’t know anymore. But it was his _mom_. He would know her voice if he hadn’t heard it for a thousand years.

“You need to come home, Stevie,” she told him. “Whatever you’re doing out there, it isn’t safe. You need to come home. You’ll get sick.”

That wasn’t—that wasn’t his mom. His mom was _No matter what, you always stand back up,_ and _In order to grow, you need to let go of the past,_ and _You can do this, Steve, even if it takes all day._ So he walked on and did not hesitate.

Loki’s voice came on the wind, and he could see the god out of the corner of his eye, walking alongside him while also walking in front of him. Loki wore the same outfit he’d worn on their wedding day. “What makes you think I chose you?” Loki asked, sounding almost amused, like he’d just seen someone fall down some stairs. “What makes you think that I, a god, _your_ god, would look a pitiful man like you and love him? A man so overwhelmed by not knowing his lot in life that learning of his husband’s culture does not even register as important? A man who laid down the shield and does not know what to do without it?” The Loki off to his side laughed, a cold and dark thing. “A man who cannot even look at his own reflection without wincing.”

The path beneath his feet began to darken. He realized quickly that something wet was starting to soak through his boots, and soon after he realized, the smell of it reached his nose. Blood. It was so overpowering that he felt almost sick with it.

The Loki alongside him laughed again. “How does it feel,” he asked, “to walk through the blood of your victims? Of everyone you could not save?”

From behind him, Clint’s voice came, “My blood is going to be mixed in there someday. You’re going to be responsible for it. What will Loki think of you then?”

It grew darker and darker around him, until he could barely see where he was going, but he was Steve Rogers. He was stronger than this. He clenched his fists and grit his jaw and he walked on. He would not falter. Purple strands of power curled around his fist and his arm and lit his way, catching moving shadows and eyes in the darkness.

But, for all of his flaws, Steve never backed down.

So he walked on.

The path ended on the Bifrost, Steve glancing around to make sure it had truly ended while Clint went to his knees and vomited over the side of it, Loki going to one knee next to him, hand on his back. Green eyes in a pale face turned to him. “How did you fare?” Loki asked, quiet. Whatever he had seen, it had humbled him. Steve hoped it wouldn’t last long, knew it wouldn’t last long.

“I’ve seen worse,” he replied, sitting on the edge of the Bifrost next to Clint, not entirely sure if it was a lie or not. “Hela sure knows her tricks, doesn’t she?” It wasn’t really a question, but Clint nodded in agreement anyway. “What did she show you?”

“Nothing she has not showed me before,” Loki said, stroking one long-fingered hand down Clint’s back. He sat next to the archer and Clint curled up on the bridge, head in Loki’s lap, shoulders still shaking every few seconds.

“Clint?” Steve asked, looking out over the stars. “Want to talk about it?”

“Hela’s got my fuckin’ ticket,” Clint muttered. “And no. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Alright,” Steve replied, and the three of them sunk into silence for a long time, Steve’s hand on Clint’s calf, Loki’s hand in his hair. 

Heimdall’s voice came out of the dark behind them. “I apologize for bothering you so late, Sire. But there is a request for you from Midgard.”

“From who?” Loki asked tiredly.

“Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, Sire. They asked for me to send for you at once.”

Loki sighed and stood up, smoothing out his clothes and helping both Clint and Steve to their feet. “Send them a raven saying we will be at the Avengers Facility in the morning.”

“Of course, Sire.”

They made the long walk back to the palace, Clint leaning against Loki’s side, Loki’s arm around his waist, Steve’s arm over his shoulders, helping him stay up. They ignored Einherjar and servants that offered to help, making their slow way to Loki’s rooms, Loki drawing a bath and asking a servant to bring a simple meal for them as Steve helped Clint undress, sliding his hearing aids out when Clint seemed too out of it to do it himself.

Sif heard the commotion from the next room over and came over to help, helping Clint into the bath and breaking a crystal in her hands and dropping it into the water. Loki leaned against the wall next to the tub, still dressed, arms crossed over his chest, eyes intent on how Sif touched Clint, making certain she was careful. Sif would not have been more careful with a newborn babe. For all of her dislike for Loki, she knew very well the power he held and how highly he regarded this Midgardian, and Sif had known Loki long enough to know just how deadly he was.

Steve perched on the bathroom counter after changing into sweats and a t-shirt and watched as Sif broke a shampoo crystal and then sudsed up Clint’s hair. When they were done, Sif helped Clint out of the bath and wrapped him in a towel, helping him to bed. Clint slid under the furs and curled up in the middle of them, and then Sif followed Steve out to the living room, taking the glass of wine he offered her. Loki quickly changed and then met them, stealing Steve’s glass of wine and then lounging artfully on the couch. Sif took the armchair after Steve waved her to it and Steve picked up Loki’s feet and then sat under them.

“I would have gone with you,” Sif told them. Steve nodded.

“It was not necessary,” Loki said, turning over onto his back and glaring up at the ceiling. “We got what we wanted.”

“Hela will give you her armies? How did you accomplish—”

“Yes,” Loki interrupted, “and I don’t think the _how_ is important.”

Sif looked like she wanted to argue but she nodded instead, taking a sip of her wine to mask the frown on her face. Steve pet his fingers over Loki’s ankle.

“What do you know about Thanos?” Steve asked, watching carefully as Sif’s brow furrowed, her mouth turned down.

“That he is fearsome,” she replied, “and mighty, and that the last time he was underestimated, he did not die even when any other being would have died. I know he is the enemy we will face. I know he scares you and that only strengthens my resolve to see him dead.”

Steve nodded while Loki turned his head and gave Sif a considering look. Finally, he said, “I have never known your hands to be gentle.”

“Well, if I’d hurt him, you would have cut my head off right then and there.”

Loki didn’t deny it, sitting up a bit to drink some wine without spilling it all over himself. “I suppose I have only seen your hands in battle and celebration,” he said, almost thoughtfully, leaning over to set his wine glass on the coffee table and then sprawl elegantly over the couch cushions. “We go to Midgard tomorrow. I wonder if you will be as gentle then.”

“I will bring no harm to you or yours, Prince.”

Loki sent her a slow, careful look, and then he smiled, just a bit. “I look forward to seeing you honor that oath.”

Sif looked at Steve, who just shrugged. He had some idea of what Loki was talking about, but it wasn’t like he was going to betray Loki by telling her anything. So Sif just leaned back in her chair and a few minutes later Loki held up a hand.

“Take me to bed,” he ordered of Steve, who had to detangle himself from Loki’s legs in order to help him up. Steve gave Sif an uncomfortable goodnight and then escorted Loki to bed.

Clint woke up as Loki slid in bed and wrapped himself around him, Loki resting his chin on the top of Clint’s head. Steve turned off the lights and doused the candles and then slipped under the sheets and the furs, Loki scooting closer to rest his head against Steve’s side.

 _Why did you let her touch me?_ Clint asked, almost groggily, as if he wasn’t entirely sure where he was.

_So you would remember that not all women mean to harm you. So that you would remember what it felt like to be touched by a woman besides Hela._

Clint nodded and closed his eyes again. _Don’t want her to do it again,_ he mumbled, and fell back asleep.

 _Of course not,_ Loki soothed. _No one will ever touch you again._

* * *

Sif let herself into Steve and Loki’s rooms the next morning only to see a very peculiar sight. Steve was sitting at the small table near the fireplace, picking at a platter of breakfast foods, with Loki kneeling next to him. Clint was also on the floor, his back against one of the table legs, head tilted back and eyes shut. Steve waved her in and motioned for her to sit across from him, which she did after a great deal of hesitation. 

Steve pointed to an empty plate and Sif filled it, her mind racing. She had been fairly certain that Loki was the dominant partner in their relationship; after all, he had far more political power, and Steve seemed willing enough to do as he asked. She’d never seen any annoyance—more than what anyone reasonable would have around Loki—that would come from a dominant partner being ordered around by their submissive. And Steve sat at Loki’s left hand, not the other way around.

Sif watched as Steve handed small bits of food down, every other one going to Clint’s hand, the others going in between Loki’s lips. Neither of them seemed to notice or care she was there. 

Finally, she could not take it. Sif was a warrior who had entered countless battles, had fought countless monsters, had killed endless enemies, but something about the coldness she often saw in Steve occasionally made her quake in her boots. But she pushed past it to ask, “Have I been addressing you wrong, Sire?”

Steve raised an eyebrow at her. “You’ll have to forgive me,” he said with a faint chuckle, “but I don’t know the difference enough to tell you.”

Sif cleared her throat, took a sip of tea from a cup that had already been poured. “There are many forms of address for someone in our situation, Sire,” she told him. “Sire is common, and the most familiar. It means you are above me in rank and are royalty.”

“I’ve heard Heimdall call Loki that,” Steve mused, cutting through an egg with his fork. 

Sif nodded. “It is used for those familiar with one another. I used it because it seemed it would be the most comfortable one for you, as it was close to the Midgard honorific of _sir_. But there is also my Lord and your Highness and—”

“Just keep calling him Sire and shut up about this nonsense,” Loki grit out, poking his head up to glare at her over the table. Steve frowned at him and Loki ducked his head back down, and Steve slid a hand into his hair, Loki immediately softening beneath it. 

“Use whatever you’re comfortable with,” Steve told her with a small smile. Then he motioned to Loki, the frightful Prince of Asgard, one of the most unconscionable Aesir Sif had ever known, kneeling at the side of a Midgardian like he belonged there, and he said, voice low, “I’m going to assume it goes without saying that you don’t mention any of this. Outside of these rooms, if anyone goes to their knees, it’s me.”

Sif nodded immediately. “Of course, Sire. Your secrets are my own.”

“Good,” Steve said, and settled back in his chair to finish his breakfast. He had a peculiar dance down, clearly well practiced, where he would cut up a few bites of food, feed himself, reach down to feed Loki, and then reach down again to give Clint a bit of food. Every few repetitions, he’d take a drink of that awful coffee stuff humans liked so much, and he’d offer the cup to Clint and not Loki. Steve would offer Loki water, however, and Loki always took a sip out of the glass that Steve so carefully held to his lips. It was absolutely incredible. 

By the time they were nearing completion of their meal, Clint snaked a hand up onto the table and patted around. Steve put two small strange purple devices in his palm, and Sif looked down to see Clint slide them into his ears. There was a very faint high pitched sound and then Clint stood up, summoned a chair, and sat down at the table with them, _leaving Loki on the floor—_

Sif shook her head. “Your Prince is on the floor,” she told Clint, who shrugged, leaning across the table to swipe a mug and fill it with coffee out of a never-empty carafe. 

“He likes it there,” Clint told her. “Trust me, you’re really gonna have to get used to it.” He reached over and slid a hand over the back of Loki’s neck, Loki shuddering and leaning harder into Steve’s side. Then Clint leaned in close to her and pointed a finger at her face. “You say one thing, one fucking thing that makes him feel bad about getting what he needs, I’ll gut you with the same knife that killed Thor, and I won’t make it quick.”

Sif looked over to see Steve focused on pulling apart a piece of bacon to feed to Loki in small bites, and realized that all appearances aside, Clint was the real power in the room. She’d seen Loki’s face the night before, the way he’d been so cautious to let her touch him. She’d seen the careful way Steve undressed him, like he was something valuable, seen the way Steve had watched her as well. She’d seen all the meetings with Balder where one of them would say something and everyone would turn to Clint for the answer. 

Sif nodded. “I would never,” she swore, and meant it.

She wondered if Balder knew, if any of them knew. If any of them were aware of just the power that Clint Barton held. Very few threatened an Einherjar and lived to tell the tale, and fewer more were believed. Sif was not easily frightened, but she believed Clint more dearly than if her own mother had spoken to her.

Sif watched as Clint balanced pieces of sausages on top of one another until he had a small tower in front of him. She offered him her own uneaten sausage off her plate and Clint gave her a winning smile, added them to the tower, and then groaned when it immediately fell over. Her hands shook as she helped him clean it up and try and restack it. She had thought there was a fine line to walk before, but her sudden revelation had made it far narrower.

* * *

The Bifrost landed them in front of the Avengers Facility, where Tony, Bruce, and Stephen were waiting outside for them. Clint waved at them and Tony waved Steve over, the two of them going inside first, Sif following behind. After a moment, Stephen decided to go with them, leaving Loki and Clint with Bruce.

“Who is that with Steve?” Bruce asked, turning his head to watch Sif follow Steve and Tony inside. She was wearing formal Aesir armour, shining and gleaming in the sun, and held in her hand a tall staff. She looked every inch a warrior. 

“His personal guard, Sif,” Loki replied, raising his eyebrows at them. “She has been to Midgard before.”

“Oh. I guess I didn’t meet her.”

“What did you summon me here for?”

“We have a prototype device to counteract the Reality Stone,” Bruce told him, and led everyone inside.

“Counteract?” Loki asked as they walked through the long hall down to the main hangar. Bruce nodded. “I was unaware such technology was possible.”

“Right now, this building probably houses the smartest people on Earth,” Bruce told him, sounding tired. “We have some scientists from Wakanda here, and even a few from Asgard.” As they walked up to the doors to the hangar, they swung open, and they went in.

“Eitri?” Loki asked, pausing in shock at seeing the dwarf peering down at a computer screen, standing next to a Wakanda scientist. 

“Prince Loki,” Eitri said, turning around and giving them a small bow. “I give thanks to see you again.” He held out his hands, and as gnarled and disfigured and misshapen as they were, they were better, and no longer coated in metal. “Your healers saved me and then I was sent here to help the cause.”

Loki nodded a bit, then he looked around, glancing back at Bruce, who led them over to a table where a small device was clearly on display. Loki peered at it, and Clint came up to the table as well, everyone herding around them in a loose circle. “Were you brought here to craft weapons?” Loki asked, and everyone glanced at each other before Eitri replied.

“My hands no longer work at the forge,” Eitri said, sounding regretful and pained. “But I can give my knowledge. It is all I have left.”

“I see influences of your work in this machine,” Loki told him, and then looked around at all of the scientists. “Well? What is it?”

Bruce just sighed tiredly at him and picked up a slim silver remote and pushed a button on it. The small device on the table whirred and a thin arm stretched out, a red eye on the end of it. Bruce pushed another button and there was another whirr and the eye began to scan, red light flickering over the room, scanning over everyone standing around. The little machine let out a small chirrup when it was finished and then a mechanical voice droned out, “Three abnormalities found.”

“Abnormalities?” Clint repeated.

“We managed to program it to detect seidr,” one of the Asgardian scientists spoke up. They weren’t anyone that Loki was familiar with, but he didn’t bother introducing himself. “We each trade off wearing a glamour on a different part of our body to make certain the machine functions correctly.”

Loki nodded. “The Reality Stone does not work off seidr,” he replied, but the scientists around him shook their heads. “Oh?”

“Seidr shapes reality,” a different scientist spoke up. “If that is true, then we can make the assumption that the Reality Stone works off seidr as well.” Loki considered that and then nodded slowly. “We managed to disrupt the seidr the machine detects.”

Bruce hit another button on the remote and the red eye on the end of the machine’s long arm turned blue, and then it gave out a small _blip_ and a small wave of seidr burst out and expanded around the room. Clint staggered and fell to the floor as Loki flinched as his Aesir glamour was forcibly torn from his skin.

From behind them, Tony said, “Wow, I’ll make sure we turn down the A/C in here.” Steve pushed through the gathered scientists to check on Clint. Loki was trying to pull the glamour back, but the machine was still activated, and he couldn’t manage to twist his fingers in enough seidr to cover himself. 

“Turn it off,” Loki hissed through long sharp teeth, “before I destroy it.”

Bruce nodded quickly and pushed another button on the remote, the small device on the table powering down. Loki quickly gathered himself and once he was put to rights, skin fully covered again, he looked down at Clint, who was being helped to his feet by Steve. Behind them, Sif looked stunned, and next to her, Stephen looked like he’d just stepped into a room full of funhouse mirrors and couldn’t find the way out. 

Loki met the gaze of each of the Asgardian scientists. “If you do not find a way to counteract this, I will crush it.” The four of them nodded immediately, eyes wide. Loki’s attention turned to the Wakandan scientists and then to Bruce. “This will prove highly detrimental in battle. It needs to be focused on Thanos. We have four Infinity Stones in this very room, do we not? Would each one be made useless by this machine?” The various scientists all shook their heads. “Oh?”

“It had to be calibrated to our best approximation of the Reality Stone,” one of the Asgardian scientists said. “The Reality Stone lays seidr over reality, much as a glamour does.” Their eyes flicked over Loki’s form and he clenched his teeth. Steve moved up next to him and crossed his arms over his chest. “As all the Stones work on different aspects of life, it goes to say that a machine geared solely at one of them would not work on all of them.”

“How many do we have now to test that theory?” Stephen asked.

Loki pulled the Tesseract out of a pocket dimension, Clint doing the same thing with the Soul Stone, and Steve held out his right hand, palm up. “The Vision contains the Mind Stone,” Loki said, turning back to look at Tony. “You know where he is, yes?”

“He’s outside with Wanda,” Tony said, motioning through the windows on the other side of the hangar where Vision and Wanda were standing at opposite ends of the field, exchanging yellow and red bursts of energy in a casual dance. Tony pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen and then spoke into it, “Hey, Vision, Blair Witch, you two want to come inside?” Outside, Vision and Wanda paused and looked up like they were listening to something and then made their way inside.

Loki turned to Stephen and raised his eyebrows. “Five Infinity Stones, then,” he told the witch, who rolled his eyes.

Stephen motioned to Steve’s hand. “How did that happen? I have held the Time Stone in my hand and that did not happen.”

Steve rubbed his left thumb over his palm and looked down at it. “It was inside an Orb, of sorts. I felt it...calling to me, almost, to use it. I put it in my hand and squeezed, and it almost overtook me, but I—I managed to calm down.” He activated the Stone and thin tendrils of power began to curl out of it and around his fingers and up his wrist. 

“What all can you do with it?” Tony asked, coming around to poke at the Stone. Steve moved his hand out of the way and shook his head, tendrils of power receding back inside the Stone.

“Enough,” Steve replied. “I can’t fly, but I can conjure energy blasts and punch through walls. When it’s activated, I can jump a lot higher, run faster.”

Something in Tony’s face turned mean and dark. “So it’s like another serum,” he said, obviously holding something in.

Steve shrugged. “I guess.”

“What does the Soul Stone do?” Bruce asked, trying to steer the conversation away from wherever Tony wanted to drag it.

“Not entirely sure,” Clint replied, tossing the Stone up into the air and catching it. 

“My research indicates the Soul Stone is the most mysterious of the Infinity Stones,” Vision offered up as he walked into the room. “I am unsure of its capabilities.”

“The Soul Stone can alter, control, or steal souls,” Loki informed him, trading Clint the Soul Stone for the Tesseract. “I read a tale that if paired with the Power Stone, it can control all life in the universe.” He shot Steve a sly, heated look. “None of the Stones are more powerful than the others, but they are each remarkable in their own ways.”

“Couldn’t you just pull Thanos’s soul out?” Tony asked. “Pull it out and crush it or whatever.”

Loki considered it. “It is certainly a possibility we can entertain,” he replied. “We cannot rely on any one thing in our battle against Thanos. Whatever we come up with, we must assume Thanos has already thought of it and found ten ways to defend against it.” He frowned, just a bit. “Thanos is far more fearsome an enemy than any of you have dealt with. He is smarter, faster, more resilient. He _cannot_ be underestimated.”

Tony motioned to the gathered Avengers, the scientists from all over Midgard, from Asgard, to Eitri, who loomed in the background. “We’ve got the smartest people from however many planets in this room,” Tony told him. “If anyone can beat him, it’s us.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at Tony’s uncharacteristic reassurance but then slowly nodded. “I suppose I shall have faith, then,” he said, and made no attempt to hide the lie.

* * *

Clint groaned as he settled into the seat across from Stephen Strange, who looked somewhat put off by his presence. Clint was used to that, however, and just gave the witch an amused look and picked up a teacup off the tray in the middle of the table and poured himself a cup. He took a cautious sip and sighed in relief when it wasn’t that gross stuff Bruce drank.

“How goes your research?” Stephen asked, picking up his own cup and carefully taking a sip. He slid a bookmark into his book and set it off to the side. Clint didn’t let his gaze linger on how the man’s hands shook.

“Research?” Clint parroted. He’d probably committed to doing something and then immediately forgotten about it. 

“Into other dimensions,” Stephen clarified. “Your past lives.”

“Oh, right,” Clint said. He shrugged. “It messed me up pretty bad. So Loki had me stop. But I saw a lot of lives if you’re curious about anything.”

Stephen slowly tapped his fingers on the table between them. He looked thoughtful, a look that sharpened his features even more. “Why is Loki so afraid of Thanos?” he asked, his voice strangely quiet.

Clint took another sip of his tea as he considered the question. His instinct was to trust Stephen, but this was a different Stephen than the one who had loved Loki. Finally, he decided on, “It wasn’t in this life, but the first one. The one that bound us together.” Stephen’s mouth curled down in a frown. “I guess fear like that follows you through time, kinda regardless of what you do.”

“I suppose you’ll give me no more answers on that subject,” Stephen drawled. Clint shrugged.

“Suppose not,” he replied.

Sharp hazel eyes regarded him. “First life?” Stephen questioned, leaning forward, obviously interested.

“Everything starts somewhere,” Clint told him. “Thor had to start the spell in one of the lives, right? Our best guess is Frigga, who could see the future, predicted Loki’s death and worked to create a spell to bring him back to life. She gave Thor the spell and they worked through thousands of iterations to land us here.”

“The Ancient One showed me the timeline,” Stephen said, and straightened up to move his hands in a way that brought a thread of shimmering gold light stretched in between his fingers. In the middle, there was a small blurred squiggle, and when Stephen expanded the line, it was obvious it was blurred with thousands of iterations of itself. “A spell such as this is not something anyone believed possible. The amount of power it would take…” He trailed off, shaking his head. Stephen disappeared the spell. “I suppose I should be happy I never met this Thor.”

“You met him in other timelines. He told us he found the idea for the spell in your Sanctum,” Clint told him, Stephen’s eyes widening a bit in shock. “I’d give anything to have never met him, so count yourself lucky. Anyway, Thor controlled the storms. He probably harnessed that power to create and power the spell. And Frigga was one of the most powerful seidrmadrs in all of the Nine Realms.”

“In my Sanctum?” Stephen repeated, clearly not having heard the rest of what Clint said.

“Yeah,” Clint replied. “Like I said, I think they started the spell long before Thanos even came to Earth. But my reckoning is that Thor found that final piece that finalized it in your Sanctum. I don’t know what it is or what he found, but I don’t think he would’ve lied about that.” Clint considered that. “Well, knowing Thor, he could’ve. But it’s not really important.”

Stephen cast him a curious glance and then refilled his cup of tea, offering to refill Clint’s as well, and he held his cup under the spout as Stephen slowly filled it. Stephen set the teapot back on the tray with a clatter that made him wince.

It was Clint’s instinct to offer to massage his hands for him, but he flexed his own fingers, which still went numb sometimes, and offered up, “We have potions for that, you know. A couple drops and your hands would be fixed.”

Stephen frowned at him. “I am capable of repairing them myself,” he replied, voice a bit tight. “I have chosen not to.”

Clint shrugged. “Your choice, man. I was just giving you the option.” 

“I hear that Stark’s friend has not taken the potion Loki offered him either,” Stephen said after a minute of uncomfortable silence.

“Rhodes?” Clint asked, and Stephen nodded. “Huh.” He didn’t really know what to say to that, brushed a hand uncomfortably over one of his hearing aids. Loki had stopped trying to heal his ears, on Clint’s request, and they’d both pretty much accepted that Thor’s curse would never be broken. He didn’t know if he’d go back to being hearing if he had the choice, but it didn’t matter. He had bigger things to worry about.

“What exactly is your relationship with Loki?” Stephen asked, and Clint looked up from his teacup to see those sharp hazel eyes glance away from the wedding ring that was still on his finger.

“Bodyguard is probably the easiest way to describe it.”

“You said you were bound?” Stephen asked, but it wasn’t really a question. 

“Yeah.” Clint glanced around the room they were in to make sure there wasn’t anyone else around—they were in a small study room off the library in the Avengers Facility, so there wasn’t anyone around and Clint had closed the door behind him when he’d barged in on Stephen, but he had to make sure—and said, “When Loki and I met in the first life, he bound me to him with the Mind Stone. It was powerful enough that it bound us through every life after that.” Clint paused and swallowed thickly, giving Stephen a low look. “Loki doesn’t have a soulmate because he has me. So whatever that means to you is what our relationship is.”

“What is their name?” Stephen asked, tilting his head at Clint’s wedding ring.

“Laura,” Clint replied softly, running the pads of his fingers over the thin gold band. “She’s human,” he offered up, not really sure why. “My lifespan is however long Loki’s is, so I guess I only get another fifty or so years with her.”

Stephen nodded, something strange passing over his face. He blinked a few times before looking back at Clint. “I have no one,” he offered up, “and I suppose I have the same obligation as the Ancient One to continue to live long past my lifespan in order to educate and keep this world safe.”

Clint shrugged. “It’s your choice, man. I live however long Loki wants me to.”

“Is that strange? To have your life beholden to another?”

Clint snorted. “Naw. Trust me, I’m used to it.”

Stephen gave him a look that he couldn’t really interpret and then changed the subject abruptly. “Did you find evidence of timelines before the one where you were bound to Loki?”

Clint thought about it, trying to scan quickly through memories, but there were too many of them, so he just shook his head. “I don’t think it works like that,” he replied slowly, still thinking about it. “The reason there were so many lives after the first one is because of Thor’s spell. So there wouldn’t have been ones before that.”

Stephen spread his hands apart, creating that golden shimmering thread again, and he magnified it again, the two of them leaning closer to examine it. There were a few of the overlapping timelines that started earlier than the others, but it was impossible to tell which of them happened in which order.

“What timeline is that?” Clint asked, motioning to the thread as a whole, leaning back to take another sip of tea. It was growing cold, so he used a bit of seidr to warm it up, catching Stephen’s attention. Sharp eyes glanced from his hand back to the timeline.

“This one,” Stephen replied slowly, as if Clint was duller than he’d realized. Clint hid his wince. Usually he tried to get to know someone better before revealing how dumb he was. “I cannot pull timelines from lives I am not in.”

Yeah, that made sense. Clint just nodded and Stephen disappeared the spell.

Before either one of them could say anything, the door opened. Loki gave them both an amused look as he stood in the open doorway. “Do you require a chaperone?” he asked, not as mockingly as he could have, and Clint rolled his eyes. “Do you know the location of the Tuning Fork?”

“Why the hell do you need that?” Clint asked, pushing to his feet. “Yeah, it’s in the Vault. Want me to go get it?”

“If you would be so kind,” Loki said with a bit of a mocking smile. Green eyes landed on Stephen, who was uncomfortably gathering up their cups back on the tea tray. “Would you join the trial, Doctor?”

“What trial?” Stephen asked, briefly looking up from the tray.

“A trial of wills, of course.” Loki gave him his best approximation of a warm smile, which Stephen clearly didn’t fall for. “I made a comment that the trials of the Einherjar would be good training for the Avengers. Tony, of course, wished to take me up on this offer. So I will bring the very final trial to him and see if he is strong enough.” Loki’s face curled into a dark, thoroughly self-satisfied smile, and Stephen looked more comfortable with that than Loki trying to be nice.

“I’ll see what the trial is before I agree to it,” Stephen finally decided, and Loki immediately grew bored and turned to Clint. “Before you leave, Agent Barton, I would ask to examine the Tesseract.”

“Ask Loki,” Clint shrugged, taking the tea tray from Stephen and holding it out to Loki, who rolled his eyes and then a tendril of seidr carried it out of the library and back to the kitchen. Clint pulled the Tesseract out of a pocket dimension and tossed it over to Loki, who easily caught it and then led them out of the small study room and back into the main library. The room wasn’t too big, and it was mostly empty, stocked with a few dozen science and reference books. Loki had been rather insulted by the sparseness of the room and had gone absolutely apeshit on the Avengers Amazon account and ordered enough books to annoy Tony, which had probably led to their argument, which probably led to Loki mentioning the Einherjar trials, which led to Clint having to go get the Tuning Fork. Great. Just great.

Loki glanced around the library with a faintly displeased look on his face and then turned to Stephen. “Very well,” he replied, and handed over the Tesseract.

“Loki?” Steve called from the doorway, pushing open the doors to the library and frowning when he saw Stephen was also in the room. “You just vanished. FRIDAY said you were in here.” 

“You have found me,” Loki drawled, turning his attention back to Stephen, who was frowning down at the Tesseract. “Are you satisfied?”

“How is it activated?” Stephen asked as Steve walked into the room. Steve was obviously annoyed and not doing a very good job of hiding it. Loki slid a hand into his arm and Steve frowned at him but didn’t say anything.

“You kinda just...push at it,” Clint replied with a shrug. “There’s no button or anything. You harness the power and just kinda use it. Can’t imagine it’s any different than using the Time Stone.”

“I would like to go with you,” Stephen announced as he looked from Clint to Loki. “Perhaps not to Asgard, but to see if I can determine how the Tesseract works. We have portal spells but those are limited. If what I have heard of the Tesseract is true, I can possibly use knowledge from how it functions to create a new type of portal better for further distances.”

Loki considered all of that and then held out his free hand, palm up. Stephen moved over to give the Tesseract back, the cube resting in Loki’s long fingers. The two of them looked at each other for long enough for Clint to grow bored and for Steve to grow increasingly more irritated. Then, Loki replied, “Very well. But not yet. Clint will go to Asgard first. Perhaps after he brings me the Tuning Fork.”

Stephen nodded and turned back to Clint. “Does that work for you?”

“It’s whatever, man,” Clint told him, and moved forward to grab the Tesseract out of Loki’s fingers.

Right as he activated it, he heard Steve mention the Power Stone. Clint rolled his eyes and landed at the top of the stairs to Balder’s throne room. One of the Einherjar stationed outside jumped a bit and Clint snorted at him. He glanced down at his clothes—heavy boots, black tac pants, and his uniform shirt—and decided he was dressed well enough, and motioned for the Einherjar to open the doors.

“The King is busy,” one of the Einherjar told him.

Clint frowned at him. “Even for me?”

“Especially for you,” the Einherjar replied, a bit of a sneer in his voice. Clint just sighed and held up the Tesseract again. He could just jump into the throne room and bypass all this nonsense, or he could go down into the Vault and get the Tuning Fork before anyone even realized he was there. He had wanted to do it properly, however. No one was supposed to take anything out of the King’s Vault without the King’s permission, even Loki. But he _could_. It wasn’t like Balder was going to get mad. Well, he assumed.

“Can you at least tell him I’m here?” Clint finally asked.

The Einherjar ignored him.

Clint was sincerely considering just abandoning the entire mission and going back to Earth empty-handed when the doors to the throne room suddenly opened. “Ah, it is little Clint!” Balder called out joyously, and Clint walked in, smirking at the Einherjar he passed. “I could tell that it was either you or Loki outside, but I was unable to distinguish further than that. I am glad you are here. Please welcome our guests.”

Their guests were three fuck-tall Jotun. Clint recognized Laufey, and then by the stronger heritage marks and the slightly fancier loincloth on the tallest of the three, he could guess that one was Helblindi, and the last one, who looked remarkably like Loki if he was huge and blue, was Byleistr. 

“I’m Clint,” he told them, bowing a bit at Laufey. He brushed his fingers over the gold snake around his neck. “I’m Loki’s personal guard.”

Laufey turned fully to him and then bent over a bit to peer at him, large red eyes unblinking above him. “You were the one to recommend my youngest as your King’s advisor?”

“One of his advisors, yeah,” Clint replied slowly. He couldn’t read Laufey’s face at all. The Jotun straightened up and then nodded, looking between his sons and then back to Clint.

“What duties do you perform for Loki?”

“I’m a personal guard, so whatever he wants. I’m bound to him.”

Red eyes turned back to Balder. “This is the human you spoke so highly of?”

Balder frowned a bit and Clint shifted uncomfortably. “Yes,” Balder replied slowly. “I hold Clint Barton in very high regard. He is very skilled in battle and has shown remarkable insight in assisting me and his Prince. I would not have asked you here if not for him.”

Laufey nodded and turned to his sons, speaking to them in the same low grumbling tone, but in Jotun. Clint could understand it but didn’t pay any attention as he slid around them and moved up the throne stairs to talk to Balder, well aware he was being rude but not really seeing any way to avoid it.

“Loki wants to borrow the Tuning Fork,” Clint told him, turning back to keep an eye on the three Jotnar. “Probably just for a few days.”

Balder stroked his beard and sent him an amused look. “Did he tell you to ask for permission?”

“Naw,” Clint replied with a snort. “He just told me to come get it.”

Balder called over an Einherjar and muttered to them, the two of them watching as the soldier skirted far around the Jotnar as they left the throne room. Clint shook his head and Balder frowned, but schooled his face when Laufey’s attention turned back to him.

“King Balder,” Laufey said, “I hear rumor that your Prince is my long-lost eldest child.” Laufey’s black lips turned down in a frown and he glanced at Clint before looking back at Balder.

Balder sighed tiredly and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “The rumor is true,” he replied, sounding exhausted. “Odin found him in a temple after the War of Jotunheim and brought him here to raise as his own. Thor began to spread dissent about him only a few years ago, and it seems to have spread far if it reached even your home.”

Helblindi stepped forward and his blood-red eyes turned to Clint. “Where is he? Where is our sibling?”

“Midgard,” Clint replied. “He is a defender of the Realm.”

The three Jotnar exchanged glances and Helblindi cleared his throat with a deep rumble. “Before we leave, we would ask to meet him.”

Laufey put on a mask of being uninterested, but both of his sons looked eager to meet Loki. Clint looked to Balder, who motioned Clint closer with a wave of one large hand. Clint stepped closer, leaning over a bit so Balder could speak quietly to him.

“Would Loki consent to this meeting? I have no doubt that their agreement rests upon this. Laufey has every right to see his child.”

Clint sighed at the entire situation and looked back at the three Jotnar behind him, three pairs of red eyes locked on him. He straightened up and asked Loki, _Hey, you busy?_

_Generally, yes._

_I have some folks who want to meet you._ He sent a mental snapshot of the three Jotnar to Loki and flinched at the maelstrom of emotions he got back. Clint gave Laufey and his sons a weak smile. “I just asked. Let you know when—”

A bright burst of green smoke appeared at the bottom of the stairs up to the throne. Loki walked out of it and looked up at the three towering Jotun before him. He clasped his hands behind his back and pursed his lips. Clint jumped down the stairs and stood at his right hand, sliding the Tesseract into a pocket dimension.

“You would not meet with us when we traveled to Jotunheim,” Loki remarked, putting on a breezy air. “Now you request my presence?” His eyes turned to Laufey, who looked as stern and aloof as ever.

“My sons wished to meet you,” Laufey replied, motioning with one massive hand to Helblindi and Byleistr. Loki’s mouth thinned.

“Here I am,” he said. “Hail and well met.”

The two of them echoed his statement and Helblindi stepped around Laufey to crouch down so he was eye-level with Loki. Loki’s lips thinned even further and his jaw tightened. But he lifted his chin and met Helblindi’s bright red eyes. “Take off your glamour, little one.”

Strangely enough, Loki glanced to Clint, who frowned and then brushed his fingers over the ruby-hilted dagger on his belt. Green eyes turned back to the Jotun before him. “I do not take orders from the likes of you,” Loki informed him. “You have met me. Are your terms met?”

Helblindi slowly straightened up. “Byleistr was raised to be my advisor,” he replied, his voice a low rumble of mountains. Loki’s eyes narrowed. “If he is to take up that mantle with your king, then I should see the face of one of those he will serve.”

Loki could refuse. He was well aware of that. He also knew that there was little room for argument, and that it was something he could easily give. It was all politics, after all. One always had to give to get.

He looked up into the faces of the monsters that had haunted his nightmares since he was young, the beasts of myth and legend that had hidden behind every corner and every tree of his youth. He looked at the great Frost Giants who he had been taught to hate ever since Odin had pulled him from Jotunheim. He turned to Clint and pulled off his tunic and his undershirt, handing them both to the archer. Then, without looking away from Clint, Loki pulled away his glamour, fully and completely.

Asgard was so _hot_. But Loki ignored that, calming himself down with Clint’s ever present placid and assured gaze. Then he turned back to his birth father.

In Loki’s last life, the memories of the first life had been ever present. He had not been able to forget what Thor had taken from him. But with Thor’s death, and the fading power of the spell, the previous lives he had been pulled through had grown ever dimmer by the day. Especially with the curse potion that he had been injected with, it often felt as if what he _could_ remember was a faint, hazy dream. Clint remembered everything, of course, but Loki did not. He had far bigger things to worry about.

But now, with his skin bared and his eyes open and no secrets left, Loki remembered the very last time he met Laufey, the time before Thor brought Mjolnir down upon him for the last time. He was hit with the sudden realization that he and Laufey had been here before, that they had met in other timelines, that there had even been timelines where Thor had somehow gone back and stopped Odin from taking Loki from Jotunheim. 

Clint moved forward and stood in front of his place, not behind Loki but next to him, eyes hard as flint as he looked up at the three Jotnar. 

A long fingered hand came down and Loki stopped himself from recoiling as Laufey’s finger brushed over the heritage marks on his forehead. Then one of Laufey’s large fingers slid under his chin and tipped his head up. Laufey examined his face slowly, drinking him in, and then the massive Jotun straightened up and clasped his hands behind his back. Loki shuddered and pulled the glamour back up, settling into the comfortable confines of his Aesir skin. Clint handed him his clothes back and Loki quickly pulled them on, almost frantic in his movements. 

“You are very beautiful,” Laufey told him once Loki had finished redressing, his voice strangely gentle. “It is as if you were fashioned out of jewels.”

Loki inclined his head but did not say anything; what was there to say? 

“Byleistr will be your advisor,” Laufey announced, turning to Balder, who had been looking a bit bored with the entire situation. He smiled a bit, showing off long sharp teeth. “Jotunheim is open to any of your kin, King Balder. I will have our seidrmadrs enchant a room so that you may safely inhabit inside our walls.” Those old blood colored eyes turned to Loki. “You are expected to visit soon.”

With that, Laufey gave Balder a small bow, both he and Helblindi spoke to Byleistr for a few minutes in their native language, and then the two tallest Jotun left the throne room. Byleistr looked like he was trying to school shock off his face and hadn’t quite mastered it.

Clint shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “So, any word on that Tuning Fork?”

“Oh, take whatever you want, little human,” Balder replied dismissively, and then he waved Byleistr up to this throne. “Unless you are here to help, you are dismissed.”

Loki’s mouth turned down and he glanced dismissively over Byleistr before vanishing in a green puff of smoke. Clint uncomfortably shifted on his feet and pulled the Tesseract back out and vanished out of the throne room, landing outside the King’s Vault. The posted Einherjar gave him a faintly curious look but didn’t stop him from pushing open the door and sliding inside. Clint jumped down the steps and then reopened his pocket dimension, pulling out the Cosmic Cube that Loki had lifted awhile ago, and vanished the replica, putting the Cube back in its place. Then he walked around for a few minutes, found the Tuning Fork, and had put it away when he walked past the fake Infinity Gauntlet.

Clint paused as he thought. Balder wasn’t one for treasures; he did not seek them out, did not even seem inclined to keep the ones he already had. Which meant that this gauntlet was a remnant of Odin’s rule. Why would Odin have the need for someone to create a fake Infinity Gauntlet?

Frigga had been able to see the future. Had she seen the gauntlet in action? Was it inevitable?

Clint reached out, brushed his fingers over the fake stones, and then after a moment of thought, picked it up off the shelf. Balder had said he could take whatever he wanted, after all. He put it into his pocket dimension and then after looking around and not seeing anything else he wanted, Clint activated the Tesseract and stepped through it onto one of the training fields outside the Avengers Facility, where most of the Avengers were milling around. Some of them were sparring or flying or standing together in clumps and talking.

Clint put away the Tesseract and pulled out the Tuning Fork, looking around for Loki. He was standing off to the side with Steve, who was still clearly annoyed and not trying too hard to hide it. Clint made his way over to them, holding up the Tuning Fork when Loki noticed him. Loki beckoned him closer and Clint greeted the two of them, feeling a bit awkward when it became obvious what Steve was annoyed about.

“You’re being purposefully obstinate,” Steve informed Loki, who looked like he was going to disagree with him just for the hell of it. He gave Loki a curious look and something approaching comprehension dawned over his face. “Did you go talk to Strange and Clint because you knew I’d be annoyed over it?”

Loki, very pointedly, turned his head away. 

Steve looked at Clint, who shrugged. “You’re the one who wanted to marry him,” Clint reminded Steve, who smiled a bit at the reminder. “Anyway, are we doing this?” He held up the Tuning Fork.

Loki took it from him and held it up, and then conjured another metal rod. He held it up and then tapped the Tuning Fork with the metal rod, a loud, clear note ringing sharply through the training field. Everyone went quiet, and then there was a loud burst of noise as a Lurking Unknown burst forward from seemingly nowhere, roaring and gnashing its many teeth and striking the ground with its fists. It was huge and seemed almost to be made out of shadow, and it was certainly nothing any of the Midgardians had seen before.

On the far side of the field, the Avengers all looked at each other and then got into formation and advanced forward. The Lurking Unknown only grew in size. Steve reached out a hand and Mjolnir smacked into his palm, and he advanced forward, leaving Loki and Clint behind him. The two of them glanced amusedly at each other and then waited.

Iron Man flew forward and blasted the Lurking Unknown with a few repulsor blasts, but the beast only grew in size, roaring again, and it leapt into the air, barely missing Iron Man with its fists. Then Falcon flew down, hitting the beast in the face with his shield and then doing a backflip and kicking it in the face.

The beast continued to grow. Steve threw Mjolnir at it and the beast staggered back, but then it’s shadow skin melted away and reformed around Mjolnir, the hammer dropping to the ground. Vision and the Scarlet Witch both shot energy blasts at the Lurking Unknown, but it did nothing.

The Lurking Unknown did not grow in size when faced with them, but then it roared as Bruce Banner stepped up, fists clenched, and his skin contorted and he turned green, bulging out into the Hulk, who leapt up into the air and brought down his fists onto the beast. The Lurking Unknown’s shadow skin melted out of the way and it jumped back, slinging a fist around and punching Hulk halfway across the field. Black Widow and Valkyrie advanced upon the beast, as did Dr. Strange, but all of their weapons seemed to be ineffective, although Dr. Strange seemed only to be trying because everyone else had. The rest of them came upon the Lurking Unknown in a wave, but the monster only grew until it was the size of a building, and everyone fell back, looking up at the beast.

“How do we beat it?” Rhodes called over, Tony repeating his question. “We threw enough firepower at it to level a building.”

Loki gently pushed Clint forward. The archer jogged forward and stood in between the furious Lurking Unknown and the Avengers, and grit his jaw and looked right up at it.

The beast shrank in small jerks and then one giant leap and then with a small _pop_ just a few moments later, it was gone.

“What the hell!?” half the Avengers yelled.

Loki raised the Tuning Fork again and tapped it with the metal rod, a clear note singing across the training field, and the Lurking Unknown appeared again. It was impossible to tell if it was the same monstrosity or a different one; it’s skin was too changeable, it’s teeth too many, it’s power too great.

“How did you do that?” Tony barked out, Clint moving off to the side when the Lurking Unknown charged at them. “You didn’t even _do_ anything!”

“You can’t be afraid of it,” Clint told everyone, and smiled as Valkyrie charged forward, sword at the ready, and she jumped forward, plunging her blade into the Lurking Unknown’s chest and at the same time, the beast shrunk into nothing and vanished.

“So the monster grows the more afraid we are,” Steve said, and Clint nodded. The Falcon soared over and then landed next to Steve, pushing up his goggles and peering across the field at Loki, who was watching them with an amused look on his face.

“Can he do it?” Sam asked, tipping his head at Loki.

“I can do it,” Clint offered up, “which means he can do it.”

Sam and Steve accepted that with a nod, but everyone else glanced at each other, a bit confused. Loki raised the Tuning Fork and hit it, that same clear, sharp note ringing out across the field, and the Lurking Unknown came forth. Loki hit it with a burst of seidr to get it’s attention, and then as the monster advanced towards him, it grew smaller and smaller until it vanished.

“That answer your question?” Clint asked with a smile in his voice.

Sif, who had hung back once the first Lurking Unknown had appeared, interested to see what they would do, pushed through the Avengers and raised her spear. Loki struck the Tuning Fork again and the Lurking Unknown appeared with a roar. Sif strode forward and the Lurking Unknown grew smaller and smaller as she approached until it vanished again. She gave Loki a small, formal bow and then went to join Steve and Clint.

“Alright,” Clint announced, “Tradition dictates that you go one at a time. Step forward and raise your weapon, and Loki will bring forth the beast. You have as long as it takes for you to defeat it. If it grows too large, one of us will come forward and send it away, and if you want, you can try again.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “Einherjar tradition is that if you fail twice, you are never allowed to try again. I think we’re a little more lenient than that, so limitless tries.” He didn’t mention the other repercussions for Einherjar who were unable to defeat the Lurking Unknown, but by the way Sif shifted her weight behind him, he was smart not to.

Tony went first, of course. He was still clad in his Iron Man armor and he raised one arm, Loki obligingly ringing the Tuning Fork, the Lurking Unknown bursting forth. It grew in bursts and starts and soon towered over Tony, who stared up at it, jumping back when the beast’s massive fists swung at him. Then, right when Clint was going to step forward to defeat the monster, it began to shrink, rather slowly, until it was human sized, and it roared and Tony took a step back. Then the Lurking Unknown began to regain it’s size, just for a minute, before Tony gathered himself again and his helmet slid off his head, and he yelled back at the beast, and it sank out of existence.

Clint was more impressed than he expected to be. Tony staggered forward and his suit dissolved away, and he held himself up on his knees for a minute, breathing heavily, waving away anyone who tried to help. Then he stood up and made his way over to stand next to Clint. 

“How’d I do?” Tony asked, because it was impossible for him to not seek validation. Clint snorted.

“It didn’t kill you,” Clint replied. “So you won.”

The Valkyrie went next. The Lurking Unknown was barely in the world long enough to bellow out its rage before she vanished it. She joined them, as did Natasha, after it took her a few minutes to defeat the beast. Then Sam went, and Clint was a bit surprised to see that it took him almost 10 minutes to gather himself up enough to disappear the Lurking Unknown. The beast did not even seem to recognize Vision when he tried, and the android stepped back, letting Wanda take his turn. The Lurking Unknown roared once and then vanished. It took Rhodey almost five minutes to vanish the beast, and he did it without his War Machine armor, which had Tony muttering under his breath. 

It took Bruce all of ten seconds to defeat the beast, which had Clint whistling under his breath. That left Stephen and Steve, and Steve graciously waved for Stephen to go first, the doctor inclining his head and then floating forward. He raised one hand and Loki rang the Tuning Fork. The Lurking Unknown came forth and it leapt for Stephen, who floated quickly out of the way. Stephen rose up high into the air and beneath him, the Lurking Unknown leapt once into the air and let out a pained roar as it vanished. Stephen landed gently on the grass and glanced once back over his shoulder before smoothing down his clothes and joining the rest of the Avengers. To Clint’s surprise, it had been him that Stephen was looking at. What the _fuck._

Loki felt far more amused than the situation required.

Steve was the last one to go. He walked slowly around the rest of the Avengers and stood in the middle of the field, jaw clenched, shoulders back, and slowly, he raised Mjolnir. The Tuning Fork rang out, loud and clear, and the Lurking Unknown came forth.

Steve’s shoulders tensed and Clint could tell the Captain was trying not to fight the beast. Instead, he raised his chin and glared, pushing down whatever instinctual fear a beast like the Lurking Unknown raised in a man, and for the first time, the Lurking Unknown faltered in it’s attack. With everyone else, it had attacked or attempted to attack until it had been vanquished. But with Steve, it took one single staggering step, and that was enough for Steve to gather himself and vanish it.

From across the field, Loki put the Tuning Fork away and felt far too pleased with himself. He moved quickly across the field and joined Steve before any of the other Avengers reached him.

“How very brave,” Loki murmured, and Steve smiled, just a bit. “The strength of will it takes to make such a beast falter...only my Captain could be capable of such an act.”

Steve nodded and turned back to the Avengers. He slid his hand into Loki’s. “Does this mean we are soldiers of Asgard?” Steve asked, only a bit teasingly.

“Naw,” Clint replied with a grin of his own. “Not the whole lot of you, anyway. But you lot are braver than a lot of them, that’s for sure.”


	6. chapter six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Clint suffers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> meant to post this earlier today but i got wrapped up in animal crossing new horizons! hope everyone is doing well

“Barton,” Steve called, his voice carrying lowly across the dining hall, “why don’t you come over here and join me.” He motioned to the seat across from him and then turned his attention back to the food he was eating. There were various other agents scattered around the room, and Clint had briefly wondered how Steve was sitting alone when he’d walked in to get his breakfast. Clint shrugged and filled up his plate and got a cup of coffee then sat down across from Steve. 

“What do you need from me, Cap?” Clint questioned, poking a fork into his scrambled eggs. 

“I’ve been wondering something for a while now,” Steve said, looking at Clint as he took a sip of his water. “How many other timelines did you see?”

Clint frowned at him and then pulled out his notebook from a pocket dimension. He paged through some of his notes and rubbed at his chin. “Few hundred. Maybe 1000. I tried to count them but stopped after the first 100 or so, because it got kind of hard to quantify what exactly counts as a timeline; did a world where everyone existed for only a couple minutes count? What about a world where Thor locked Loki up and ended up killing him over a nightmare Thor had? I’ve been meaning to talk to Strange about it but I’ve been busy.”

Steve’s mouth turned down at the mention of Strange but he nodded, curling his fingers around his fork and squeezing. “How many of those were Loki and I together?”

Clint blinked a few times and awkwardly cleared his throat. He thought about it. He hadn’t really—he’d gotten lost in what alternate versions of him had been doing. He’d seen himself in every single possibility and every universe and every one was different than the one before. He didn’t know how to admit that, for once, Loki had come secondary. “I...I’m not sure. I’d have to look again. I was mostly focused on Thanos.”

Steve did something with his eyebrows that automatically made Clint feel twice as guilty as he’d felt before. “Why don’t you start looking into that,” he told him, and it wasn’t a question. He gathered up his plate and utensils and cup and made to stand up. 

Clint winced. “You have to ask Loki,” he replied, voice tight. Steve frowned at him. “I’m not—he said I can’t anymore.”

Very slowly and carefully, Steve sat back down. He looked furious for a single solitary second before smoothing his face back down to something resembling calmness. “I am asking you, as your Captain, to find the answer to this question.”

Suddenly and horrifyingly aware of the people around them, Clint leaned over the table and said, quietly but with as much force as he could muster, “You’re my Captain but you’re not my God. You have to ask him. That’s not the way this works.”

Steve got up and left the dining hall, abandoning everything on the table. Clint flinched but pulled it all over to his side of the table and then continued eating, keeping his head down. He didn’t need to see the way the SHIELD agents and everyone around him were looking at him. He knew well enough that the vibes would not be positive. 

Long, scarred fingers rested on the purple notebook in front of him. Clint glanced up to see Stephen sitting down across from him. 

“May I?” Stephen asked, motioning to the notebook.

Clint shrugged. “Go for it.”

He turned his attention to his plate and pushed his food around while Stephen dragged the notebook over to his side of the table and he paged through it. “What language is this?” Stephen asked, running one of his shaking fingers over the words. “It is none I have seen before.”

“I switch between Old Asgardian and new Asgardian, mostly,” Clint muttered. “It’s, uh, it’s easier for me. Sometimes.”

Stephen merely nodded, running the pads of his fingers over the peculiar shapes and words. “I devolve into English somewhere in there,” he told Stephen, “but that’s when I started to have problems, and English shorthand is easier.”

_I have informed Steve that you are not to explore any more of the past timelines._ Loki’s voice was sharp and abrupt and he sounded pissed. Clint should probably go deal with that. He just sighed instead. He kind of wanted to just curl up in bed and sleep the day away instead of handling everyone else’s problems. Whatever kind of day he was having, he knew it wasn’t going to be a good one.

He sighed. _Yessir._

Hazel eyes glanced up from the notebook and then flicked over Clint’s face. Stephen’s full mouth turned down and he resolutely closed the notebook and pushed it back across the table. “Go rest,” Stephen told him, leaning across the table to gather up Clint’s plate and silverware into a pile, then putting Steve’s dishes on top of them. He used a bit of his seidr to float it up into the air. “There is nothing we are doing that cannot wait a day.”

Clint nodded and put the notebook back into his pocket dimension and then he watched as Stephen stood and floated everything over to the kitchen.

Long, cold fingers brushed over the back of Clint’s neck and he turned to see Loki standing next to him. He leaned into Loki’s side and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were in front of Loki’s bed in his rooms at Clint’s house. Clint staggered and then collapsed into bed, Loki quickly divesting him of his clothes and then joining him under the covers and furs. Clint closed his eyes and curled into Loki’s chest.

_Is there a discernible issue?_ Loki queried, his voice as gentle as Clint had ever heard it. _I can request that Steve does not—_

_It wasn’t that,_ Clint interjected before Loki went off on whatever tangent he was headed down. _I’m just...melancholy._

One of Loki’s hands threaded into his hair. _Ah,_ Loki murmured. _I understand._ He paused for a moment as he thought. _Then you will be allowed your melancholies. Do you wish for me to leave?_

_No,_ Clint murmured, already on the verge of falling back asleep. _Don’t leave me alone._

_It would be unthinkable to me._

* * *

Clint felt far better the next morning. Loki had spent the afternoon concocting up a potion for him and had used one of the hairs he had stolen from Balder to increase its potency. It was a _ljos_ potion, used for bringing light to a depressed person. It wasn’t that Clint was depressed necessarily, it was more that just...sometimes he got overwhelmed. Sometimes he just needed to rest. Sometimes life was just a bit too much and he didn’t want to look at it for awhile.

But he felt better. 

_Thanks for not making me go back there,_ Clint said as he pulled on his socks. Loki was over at his vanity, annoying the both of them with makeup. He did look good in eyeliner though. 

_Go where?_ Loki queried, barely interested in the answer. 

_To the other timelines, like what Cap wanted. It’s...it’s not good for me._

That caught Loki’s attention. He looked at Clint in the mirror. _Whatever he asked of you cannot be important enough to risk your mental health. You were nearly lost the last time._

_He didn’t tell you what he wanted?_ Clint got up to find a pair of pants, opening up a closet door to dig through it. 

Loki turned his attention back to his reflection. _Nay._

Clint found a pair of black tac pants with gold edging and pulled them on as he considered whether or not Steve wanted Loki to know. He doubted it. But he was _tired_ and he didn’t want to deal with it anymore. _He wanted to know how many times the two of you had been in a relationship._

One of Loki’s hands shook for just a moment. _Do you have an answer?_

_No. I didn’t...I was trying to find Thanos, remember?_

Loki met his gaze in the mirror and Clint swallowed thickly, feeling pinned in place. _Were you now?_

Clint ducked his chin and didn’t say anything.

_I seem to remember you losing yourself quite severely in those alternate timelines,_ Loki mused, still looking at him. _I checked your memories. Thanos was in very few of them._

_I got lost,_ Clint muttered. _I didn’t have a way to drag myself out._ He fought with himself for a moment and then ground out, _I didn’t_ want _to drag myself out._

_Come here, pet._ Loki motioned to the space next to his chair and Clint gratefully collapsed into it, leaning back against the vanity and putting his head in his hands. _Tell Loki what happened._

_Buck asked me to kill him. Bruce asked me to kill him._ You _asked me to kill you. Why would I want to be here anymore?_

Loki conjured up a bit of lipstick and began applying it. Clint leaned over so his head was pressed against Loki’s thigh. There were other things, other parts of his life that had been so hard to face, and how could he face them when he had such a hard time finding himself, when he did not even know who he was? _You know you should not be worrying about such things_. Clint nodded, took in a deep breath to calm himself down. _How is this your duty? How is this your concern?_

_It isn’t,_ Clint said, softly. _It’s not. But I have to—_

_No,_ Loki told him. _You only do what I tell you._

Clint took in a deep, shuddering breath and screwed his eyes shut. _Just do what I’m told._

_Good boy. Now, answer Steve’s question for me._

_I never saw you with anyone other than Thor. He didn’t allow it. You found me once, and he killed you once you went back to him._

Loki nodded, brushed his fingers over Clint’s hair. _We talk about eventualities quite a bit, don’t we? About certain things always being inevitable. About things being meant to be. Surely Steve would wonder if we were meant to be. If it happened in other timelines, then surely it was meant to happen in this one._

_There were timelines where Steve married_ me, Clint muttered back. _Timelines where he stayed with Bucky, timelines where he fell in love with Nat, Sam, Bruce, anyone. Hell, even Tony once. Maybe even Thor a time or two. He really can’t base anything off past timelines. Soulmates don’t...they don’t go through timelines like that. They change because the people change. Christ, Loki, Steve’s soulmate changed twice in_ this _timeline. That’s not the way eventualities work._

_Good boy._ Loki stood up and held out a hand. _What is the only eventuality that you are certain of?_

Clint took his hand and Loki pulled him to his feet. Clint looked up at him. _That I’m yours._

* * *

“Sure,” Clint agreed, “but what’s the quantifiable definition of a timeline?” He motioned to his notebook that was on the table in between them. Stephen frowned a bit as he thought. “There were timelines that only lasted for minutes, sometimes even less than that. Sometimes seconds. There was one where I blinked and it had restarted because Thor fucking tore Loki apart with his hands in a matter of moments. Is that a timeline we have to consider? I can’t look at any more of them, so this is what we have to work with.”

Stephen tapped his shaking fingers on Clint’s notebook. “We have no official measurement for timelines. I have used the Eye to look forward in time to see the future.” To Clint’s surprise, his cheeks flushed and he looked away. “There are timelines where a plane crashes into the Facility and we all die. Timelines where the Hulk kills everyone. Timelines where we all get poisoned or sick or where Thanos finds another army or Hela betrays us all and sets her army on us. Endless possibilities in which we lose.”

Clint nodded. “I’m not going to ask how many we win.”

Stephen smiled, just a bit. “I appreciate that, Agent Barton.” He looked back at the notebook. “A timeline can consist of moments or of years. We should take everything you remember into consideration.” Clint nodded again. Sharp eyes looked over him and then back down at the notebook. “It truly is remarkable you are able to remember as much as you have. In order to defeat Thanos, it will take everything we have.”

“You saw it, then? How we do it?”

“Yes,” Stephen said. “But if I tell you, it will change.” He opened his mouth as if to say something and then shook his head and closed it.

“Makes sense,” Clint replied with a casual shrug. “Trust me, I ain’t curious. How about this: you lead me down the path we need to take, and I’ll make sure we all follow. Also, Doc, I haven’t been an Agent in years. Just my name is fine. Either one.”

Stephen nodded and looked momentarily uncomfortable before continuing on, “May I make a copy of this?”

Clint reached out and tapped the notebook with one finger, a small burst of green seidr erupting from his touch. The purple notebook duplicated itself and Clint motioned towards the new one. “Take it, Doc. Turned it into English and everything.” He paused and pulled the original notebook back over, flicking through towards the end of his notes, where it devolved into scattered and messy shorthand. “I, uh, made note of certain things.” He pointed to a familiar line that read _CB/SL. No T. No L. L d: ch._ “I had to stop counting after a while. I couldn’t keep any of it straight in my head, couldn’t figure out how long anything lasted. It got real bad. But I wrote down as much as I could. This means that I was...well.”

For some reason telling Stephen Strange any of this made his skin itch, made his gut twist, made his heart beat faster. His wedding ring felt heavy on his finger.

“Me and Scott Lang,” he finally managed to rasp out. “You can probably figure out the rest of them. I mostly started following myself, you know. I couldn’t watch what Thor kept doing to Loki, so I watched myself. Or other versions of myself, anyway. But that all means that Thor wasn’t in it, and neither was Loki.”

One long finger tapped over the last part. “What does _ch._ mean? I can extrapolate that _L d_ means that’s how Loki died.”

Clint nodded. “It hurt every time Thor killed him, you know. Because of our bond or whatever. He struck Loki in the chest that time. Other times it was the head or strangling him or striking him with lightning or any number of things. But he always killed him.”

“Lightning?” Stephen repeated, brow furrowing. He looked around the room like he was searching for something and then shook his head, running shaking fingers over his goatee.

Clint almost told him. He almost opened his mouth and spilled everything—his and Loki’s life together, the way that before Steve, Stephen Strange had been there for Loki in the tumultuous hell of his life under Thor—but then he looked at his wedding ring and remembered saying, _Probably just another fifty years,_ and he decided against it. It was always fifty years for one of them, in this life or the last. 

“God of Thunder,” Clint reminded him. “Lord of the storm.”

Stephen nodded, turned his attention back to the notebook. He paged through it.

The door opened. They’d taken up residence in the small anteroom off the library again and were holing up in there while the rest of the Avengers trained. Bruce walked in and Clint waved him to a seat, Bruce sitting next to him. Bruce nodded to Stephen and motioned to the identical notebooks they were holding. He pulled his own green notebook out of the pocket of his suit jacket and Clint went cold.

He’d fucking forgotten that they’d been able to communicate between the two journals. He’d written _everything_ in there.

Bruce reached over and patted the back of his hand. “Don’t worry,” Bruce told him. “I haven’t said anything.”

Clint nodded and then cleared his throat, pulling his hand out from under Bruce’s. “Thanks, Doc,” he muttered. “Anyway, we were talking about timelines.”

Bruce nodded and opened up his notebook. He ran his fingers over the old Asgardian that Clint had devolved into using, over his frantic notes, over the ravings of a man losing his mind. 

“Do you understand that?” Stephen asked, motioning to the page Bruce was reading. “I frankly cannot make heads or tails of it.”

Bruce shrugged a bit. “I’ve always been good with languages,” he replied with a casual shrug. “It’s similar to Norse and Icelandic and Gaelic. My estimation is that Asgardians have been coming to Earth every few thousand years, involved themselves in whatever culture they found, and changed the language to suit themselves.”

Clint nodded. “You’re not far off, actually,” he said. “Odin came to Earth a few times, began a religion, then Thor continued it. Or maybe Frigga continued it. But Earth is kind of considered Asgard’s big dumping ground, honestly.”

“You mention here a book of weavings?” Bruce asked, laying his green notebook on the table and motioning to a page. Both Clint and Stephen leaned in a bit to read it. It was an entire page outlining Clint’s current understanding of the timeline. It started with one of Frigga’s first recorded prophecies about a strike of lightning coming out of the ground instead of the sky, about a sheet of ice that came forth and covered the lightning. Clint’s interpretation of the weaving had been similar to Frigga’s: Thor was the lightning, Loki was the ice, and if Loki wasn’t stopped or held in check, he’d kill Thor.

Clint reached into the ether and pulled out the copy of Frigga’s book of weavings, laying it on the table and cracking it open. “Frigga was well known for her gift of foresight,” he told them. “My best working theory is that she knew Loki was going to be left in that temple and one of her weavings showed her that Loki was destined to kill her son, so she had Odin take him.”

Stephen sat back in his chair and rubbed at his chin as he listened to Clint. Bruce nodded and Clint tapped the pages of the book and changed the language to All Speech so that it was written in whatever language the reader could understand.

“There was a weaving that we think Frigga relied the most on.” Clint turned to it and brushed his fingers over the familiar words. “It says there is a king that will be dethroned by his own kin, that there would be three prisoners who would take down an unjust King who stole his throne. It was pretty obviously about Thor.”

“Weaving?” Stephen asked with a small frown. Bruce looked curious as well.

“Frigga had a loom where she would infuse seidr into wool and yarn and would create a tapestry, from which she would pull a prophecy. She made thousands of them over the years, and wrote them all down in a book that Loki copied a few hundred years ago. This is that copy.” Clint paged through the book and rested his chin in his hand as he read about a lost son who made his way back home. Huh.

He turned the page and read about a brother who turned on his own kin, about a man more talented than any of his peers and a brother who was always jealous. He read about fratricide and a single, solitary arrow changing the lives of an entire family.

Clint rubbed at his chin as he thought, mind racing. He could hear Bruce and Stephen talking quietly to each other, but it was like he couldn’t process what he was hearing. He muttered something under his breath about being excused and quickly left the room, reaching out for Loki and then _pulling_ , landing in the living room of Steve’s rooms, where Loki was kneeling next to the couch, Steve petting his hair.

“I didn’t tell you,” Clint gasped out, staggering forward, watching as Loki pushed to his feet just in time to catch Clint before he fell. “He wants me back.”

“Pardon?” Loki asked, long arms wrapping around Clint’s waist as he dragged him over to the couch. Steve got up to help Clint sit down, wrapping a hand over the back of his neck. Clint sagged forward, pressing his forehead into Loki’s shoulder.

“Swordsman,” Clint said, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ve been so fucked up lately, I don’t know why, but he’s—he’s been to my house. He’s left letters for me.”

Loki’s hands cupped his jaw and his thumbs dug into Clint’s cheeks as he pulled back, tipping his face up. Clint blinked a few times before meeting Loki’s sharp gaze.

Loki entered his mind like a sword through flesh. He ransacked Clint’s carefully filed memories without finesse, searching and tossing things about until he finally found the letters Clint had so carefully hidden away. Loki glanced over them and then turned back to Clint’s mind to find his memories of the circus. 

There were a few years worth of them, of course, and Loki ran his fingers through all of them, glancing over Clint and Barney curled together in a small cot, sharing breath under a threadbare blanket as the wind howled outside; Trick Shot watching Clint toss a pen into a trash can from across a room; the Swordsman sitting across from him at a small table and asking Clint what he knew about fighting; learning how to shoot a bow and arrow and finally figuring out who he was meant to be, finally learning that the emptiness he’d felt in his palms all his life was meant to be filled with a weapon; Loki watched as Clint’s mentors very carefully and methodically and without letting him realize, turned him into a weapon. 

Loki nodded to himself and slid out of Clint’s mind and released his grasp on him, standing up and watching as Clint collapsed back into the couch, shivering. He leaned into Steve’s side as Steve slid his arm over his shoulders. Loki frowned down at him and then turned away, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. 

“You will be going to the infirmary,” Loki decided. “I will run a few scans and ascertain the problem while you recover from whatever manner of sickness this is.”

“I don’t get depressed like this anymore,” Clint whined out. “Haven’t for ages.”

Loki turned his head and looked at Clint over his shoulder. “You were last depressed when Thor took your hearing,” he replied, a bit of hesitancy in his voice.

Clint let out a trembling, tired sigh.

“You got over that quicker than I expected,” Steve said, eyes narrowed on Loki’s back. “You bounced up a few days after and seemed back to normal.”

Clint shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it.”

Steve looked from him and then back at Loki, who had grown stiff as a board, shoulders rucked up around his neck. “Loki,” Steve sighed. “What did you do?”

Carefully, Loki straightened up, ducking his chin so his hair covered his face, shoulders shoved back. “I was tired of it,” he told them, ice in his voice. “It was not conducive to our goals. I could not heal the deafness, so I removed the depression caused by it.”

“You can’t—Loki. Look at me.” For a moment, Loki did not move, and then he cautiously turned back to meet Steve’s stern gaze. “That’s not the way this works. We have to _feel_ things.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I would not consider you a good example of prime emotional health, Captain.”

“I’m doing my best,” Steve spat out, fists curling at his sides, and then he shook his head. “What did you do with it?”

“I removed it,” Loki repeated.

“You had to put it somewhere,” Steve said. “Whatever you did with his depression, it had to _go_ somewhere. Clearly it came back.”

“Perhaps it would work that way with another human,” Loki conceded, “but Clint is not his own. I can mold him however I wish. I can take his emotions and change them however I wish.” He shook his head and motioned at Clint’s ears. “Thor cursed his ears when he struck the Bifrost. That is why his deafness cannot be healed. Certainly this setback is a symptom of this curse.”

Steve bared his teeth. “I don’t believe you,” he finally decided. “I think this is your fault.” He turned to look at Clint, who was silently crying, eyes squeezed shut. “Clint, for the love of—” He surged forward and wrapped both his arms around Clint’s shoulders. “Fix this.”

Loki’s mouth turned down. “I did not do this,” he pressed. “Whatever caused this, it was not because of anything I did.” He lifted a hand and traced it down Clint’s body, green seidr flickering over Clint’s form. “Hmm. I must run more scans. If you insist on inserting yourself into this, Steve, then you can be the one to carry him to the infirmary.” Loki stepped back from the couch and made a motion for Steve to move towards the door. Steve let out a put-upon sigh and picked Clint up, Clint’s head lolling against his chest. Loki left, pointedly not holding open the door, so Steve had to balance Clint as he yanked the door open, and then he followed Loki down the hall.

The three of them made their way to the infirmary, where Loki called for a healer while Steve gently laid Clint down in a bed. The resident doctor was named Welond, who was tall and stern looking, and Loki took an immediate dislike to him, mostly on principle. While he was examining Clint, Sif came into the infirmary, looking a bit troubled.

“The ceiling informed me of your arrival in the healing wing,” Sif told Steve, giving him a once-over. “You do not seem to be wounded.”

Steve shook his head. “Something is wrong with Clint,” he replied, and she looked at the archer in the bed, eyes going wide. Sif looked between Loki and Clint and then nodded to herself.

“I will stand guard,” she announced, stepping up to the end of the bed and crossing her arms over her chest. Loki narrowed his eyes at her but continued to run seidr scans of Clint, who was apparently unconscious. 

Steve pulled up a chair and dropped back into it. “You see anything, Doctor?” he asked of Welond, who shook his head, putting away his handheld scanner. “He’s been acting off for the past few days. Even cried earlier. Had a big depressive episode last year.”

“He lost his sense of self,” Loki supplied, something troubled crossing his face as his seidr scan paused over Clint’s chest. Welond nodded and moved over to a side table to pick up a tablet and tap through the screens. “What did your scans see?”

“Nothing,” Welond replied tiredly. “Whatever spell you have on him, I can’t see through it. Doubt any of the tech here can.”

“He is not human,” Loki supplied, reaching forward with one long hand and resting it on Clint’s chest. Welond looked over to see Loki’s hand sink beneath Clint’s skin and he grimaced reflexively. “He is mostly seidr at this point, which renders your machines relatively useless. But the healing wing in this facility is located at the center of the building, and is therefore well protected. If he is incapacitated, this is a safe location for him.” Loki turned to look at Sif and pulled his hand out of Clint’s chest, pointing one long, shaking finger at her. “It is your neck on the line if anyone touches him,” he told her, and with that, strode out of the infirmary.

Steve sighed, decided against asking Sif if she needed anything, nodded to Welond, and followed Loki out of the facility and to the green field in front. It was dark out, and the moon was gone, leaving the sky blanketed with stars.

He stepped up next to Loki, who had his head tilted back, eyes intent on the stars above.

“The stars are different here,” Loki told him, his voice soft. “Oftentimes I go outside and see a different sky than the one I expect.”

“It’s different for me, too,” Steve replied, keeping his voice quiet. “Some stars I remember aren’t there anymore, or are brighter, or are even in a different place. And you can’t see anything the way you used to, not like it was back then.” He looked over Loki’s sharp face, gaze lingering on his familiar and lovely features, and then Steve turned his head to look up at the sky.

“The first time I came to Midgard, I spent the entire night out under the stars.” Loki took in a deep breath and lowered his gaze from the sky to Steve, who squarely met him. “His soul is sickened. I believe his seidr is being poisoned somehow.”

Steve nodded. “What do we do?”

“I must think,” Loki said, turning away from him and pacing in quick, short strides in front of Steve. “It could come from any cause. Seidr can be volatile in great quantities, especially when contained within a form not meant to house it. Perhaps his seidr is poisoning itself, perhaps it is a feedback loop with his soul…” Loki trailed off and shook his head. “It could take many days for me to find the root of the problem.”

“I thought he was made for you,” Steve replied with a frown. Loki mirrored his look. “Wouldn’t that mean he’s able to kind of take whatever you throw at him?”

Loki considered that. “He was born a human,” Loki finally decided, “and your species is not meant to house such high quantities of seidr. But it does not present itself so quickly.” He rubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh. “Steve, I do not know what to do.”

Steve moved forward, wrapped his arms around Loki’s shoulders and pulled him close. Loki slumped against him, twisting his fingers into Steve’s shirt, leaning down to press his face in Steve’s neck. “You said it was his soul, right? Well, we have the Soul Stone.”

He could _feel_ the connection snap in Loki’s mind, and a moment later, Loki dragged them through dimensions and they were back in the infirmary. Loki stepped away from Steve and held his hand out, palm up. A moment later, the Soul Stone appeared in his palm.

Clint shuddered on the bed and Loki nodded, closing his fist around the Stone. He turned back to Steve, who was trying to not look confused. “I must speak with Stephen Strange and Bruce Banner,” Loki told him, his voice tight.

“FRIDAY?” Steve asked. “Where are they?”

“I have asked them both to come to the infirmary,” FRIDAY replied a moment later, her gentle voice coming out of a speaker in the corner of the ceiling. “They are both en route.”

Sif glanced around in confusion but did not move from her post and did not say anything. Loki turned away from the bed and motioned for Steve to hold out his hand, which he did. Loki traced his fingers over the embedded Power Stone in Steve’s palm.

“Do you feel it?” Loki asked, holding up the Soul Stone in his other hand. On the bed, Clint shivered. Welond laid a blanket over him and then took his temperature, but the thermometer beeped a few times before refusing to turn back on.

“Feel what?” Steve asked, his voice soft.

“The Stones yearn to be reunited,” Loki said quietly. “They wish to come together, as they were in the beginning. The Soul Stone is the most unknown of the six Stones; it’s powers are undocumented and are wildly theorized. The most common belief is that it can control the power of the soul, which is, of course, uncommonly powerful. I believe I have said before that coupled with the Power Stone, it is believed the user could control all life. Now, Steve, what do you believe the Soul Stone could do with someone who is mostly seidr?”

“I can’t imagine anything good,” Steve replied, turning his head to see Stephen and Bruce walking quickly into the infirmary. “You make it sound like the Soul Stone is sentient.”

“It is not, of course,” Loki replied, moving away from him and towards Stephen and Bruce. “But it is powerful, and power seeks power.” Green eyes flicked over Stephen’s face and down to the Eye of Agamotto, as always around his neck. “It takes a very powerful being to wield an Infinity Stone. The Sorcerer Supreme has always wielded the Time Stone. I can only imagine what the Time Stone would do to a wielder that was not powerful enough.” Stephen nodded with a bit of a grimace. “The Soul Stone acts upon the user’s soul.” Loki turned back to look at Clint in the hospital bed. “If the wielder is not powerful enough, it poisons their soul.”

“What now?” Steve asked.

“I ask of you to take it,” Loki asked, looking back at Stephen. “You are clearly powerful enough to wield it.” Then, he paused. “But whoever wields it must stay away from him as he heals.”

Stephen frowned.

Bruce stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’ll take it,” he decided. “Even in this form, I still have the Hulk’s might. This will also allow me a chance to examine an Infinity Stone and learn more about it.” He gave a small, self-deprecating smile. “Clint might not mind me staying away from him anyway.”

Loki considered him as a snake would consider a mouse. “He told me of what he promised you,” Loki said, and he stepped forward to press the Soul Stone into Bruce’s hand. “You will find I am also willing to take your life and with far less compunction than he.”

Bruce nodded. “Good,” he replied, and looked down at the Stone in his hand. He nodded to himself and then glanced at Steve. “Steve?”

“What did you ask Clint to do?” Steve asked, moving closer, crossing his arms over his chest.

“To kill me,” Bruce said simply, sliding the Soul Stone into his pocket. “The Ancient One, before her death, looked into my future and saw destruction. She saw that I would kill every single one of us. So I asked Clint if he ever thought I was going to do that, if the Hulk was ever going to come out and do that, to take me out before it could happen.” He met Steve’s gaze calmly and without compunction.

Steve ran a hand over his face. “Bruce,” he sighed. “You can’t ask that of someone.”

“I can and I did.”

Stephen, clearly uncomfortable, moved around Loki to stand next to Clint’s bed. Sif glared at him but Stephen didn’t take note of her. He watched Clint as he shifted uncomfortably on the bed, still unconscious, sweat on his brow.

Slowly, cautiously, Loki turned around to watch Stephen watching Clint.

“You don’t know if that’s your future,” Steve argued. “You could’ve changed it just by knowing.”

Bruce shook his head. “That’s not how it works,” he replied, voice still calm and sure of himself. “Regardless, I needed insurance. Clint was the only one I felt I could trust.”

Not looking away from Stephen, Loki added, “I raised no issue with Clint’s agreement once I was made aware of it. It is Bruce’s choice.”

“He can’t ask someone else to _kill him,_ ” Steve argued, turning back to look at Loki. “You can’t agree to this. You can’t let him.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “It is Clint’s decision to—”

“Clint doesn’t fucking _breathe_ without your approval, he’s not going to agree to _kill_ someone if he doesn’t think you’d be fine with it,” Steve interrupted. He turned to look at Bruce. “I’m not okay with this.”

“You don’t have to be,” Bruce replied easily. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair. “Out of all of us, Steve, I’m the only one who knows what the Hulk is capable of. You’ve seen it, but I’ve _lived_ it. I don’t want to die, but there was a decision I had to make: either be the maker of my own misfortune, or take it into my own hands. Hulk won’t let me kill myself. Do you know how many times I’ve tried? He spits out bullets I shoot into my head, he takes over if I cut my wrists, he tears ropes if I try to hang myself, takes me out of the fucking _Artic Circle_ when I tried to freeze myself to death. Nothing I’ve done works.” Bruce lifted his chin and pushed his shoulders back, meeting Steve’s gaze dead on. “This is a last resort. You weren’t even supposed to know about it unless Clint had to put that arrow through my head. You don’t get a say in this, Steve.” Bruce patted the Soul Stone in his pocket and glanced at all of them before taking his leave. 

Steve pulled up a chair and dropped into it, rubbing his hands over his face with a tired sigh. Loki perched on the edge of Clint’s bed and patted Clint’s arm. After an uncomfortable moment, Stephen sat in a nearby chair as well, crossing his legs and clasping his shaking hands in his lap.

“Clint has nerve damage in his hands as well,” Loki offered up, tilting his head at Stephen’s scarred hands. Stephen frowned at him. “I can offer you a healing potion.”

“Barton already offered me one,” Stephen replied, his voice low and quiet. Sharp hazel eyes flickered over Clint’s unconscious form and then Stephen looked uncomfortably around the room, almost as if he had just realized he was out of place.

“Was it red?” Loki asked with a bit of amusement.

“Loki,” Steve muttered under his breath, shaking his head. “Stephen, we can talk tomorrow. You don’t need to stay.”

Stephen opened his mouth and seemed to be at a loss for words. He nodded and pushed to his feet and then swept out of the infirmary. Loki took his chair and idly tapped his fingers on the armrest.

“Do you not believe in mercy killing?” Loki asked after the two of them had been silent for a few minutes. “That is all Banner wishes for.”

Steve grimaced. “It’s not right,” he finally decided on, eyes locked on Clint’s form.

“Do you not kill people?” Loki continued, crossing his legs. “How is being asked to do it any different?”

Steve just shook his head.

“If I asked you to kill me, if I was going to hurt others, would you do it?”

“I don’t...I don’t know,” Steve finally said after thinking about it for a minute. “I couldn’t kill you, Loki.”

“Yet you regularly kill others for the harm they have or will inflict upon innocents,” Loki concluded. “How is it any different? Because you know me? Because Banner and Clint are friends?”

Steve shook his head. “It’s wrong,” he said firmly. With that, he got up, pressed a kiss to Loki’s cheek, and told him they would talk in the morning, then left the infirmary.

“You can open your eyes now,” Loki said, eyes on the closing door. In the bed, Clint groaned and slowly sat up, moving stiffly, and he rubbed at his eyes. “When did you wake?”

“Once Bruce left,” Clint rasped, leaning over to pick up a glass of water from the bedside table. He sipped at it and let out a sigh. “I feel really fucked up.”

Loki’s nails tapped on the armrest of his chair as he watched Clint. “I will need to go into your soul,” Loki finally decided. “I will have to examine the damage done and see how long it will take to heal.” He gave Clint an amused look. “Stephen seemed rather worried.”

“We’ve spent time together,” Clint replied, leaning back against the pillows and closing his eyes. “Feels like my heart is trying to twist out of my chest.”

Loki moved over to the hospital bed and rested his hand over Clint’s chest. “Hush,” he murmured, pushing seidr into Clint’s body. Clint sighed in relief as green light swarmed over and covered him. “I will fix it tomorrow. Do not fret.”

“As long as you’re here, I won’t,” Clint murmured, barely audible, and fell back asleep.

Loki sat back down and kept his hand on Clint’s chest, and kept watch throughout the night.

* * *

Loki gave Stephen a slow, sly smile. “It is a very long and intense process to go into one’s soul,” he told Stephen, resting one long-fingered hand on Clint’s wrist. “I have done it before, but I am sure Clint would appreciate you watching over him.”

Sharp hazel eyes narrowed at him and Stephen frowned. “I am certain nothing would happen to him here,” Stephen hedged, but he clearly didn’t want to leave, which was what Loki had been counting on.

“He would feel so much safer with you here, Dr. Strange,” Loki added on, tone silky smooth, and Stephen clearly didn’t believe him but also wanted to stay enough that he nodded and took the chair next to Clint’s hospital bed. Loki pushed Clint’s body over enough so that he had a place to sit, and then after glancing around the room one last time, he pressed his palm to Clint’s forehead and closed his eyes.

Clint was waiting for him. Loki glanced around his mind with a faint sense of amusement. _You know this is not where I must go._

Clint sighed. _I know. Just kinda weird to do this with him here._

Loki gave him a small smile and Clint let himself be cleaved open.

Clint’s soul was calmer than the last time he’d been here. It was wrapped around his heart instead of behind it, and it curled into Loki’s palms as if knowing where it belonged. Human souls were so peculiar, Loki remembered. So small. A few of Clint’s bonds had changed, a bit smaller or larger, but they were all still little fluttering things within his soul, little bursts of affection that were different sizes depending on how deeply he cared for them. There was still no bond that tied his soul to Loki, but Loki knew now it was because Clint’s entire soul _was_ Loki, merely not some part of him. However, hidden inside, there was a small burst of orange light that caused Loki to smile to himself.

His soul was sickened. It was lethargic in Loki’s hands, and no longer carried the pearlescent sheen that it had held before. It was dull and grey and lifeless. _You poor thing,_ Loki murmured to it. _Do not fret. I am here and I will heal you._

Clint’s soul shivered in his palms. Loki settled against his heart, took comfort in the strong, steady beats, and began his good work.

He pulled in seidr and began slowly wrapping it around Clint’s soul, feeding it into the crevices and valleys and surrounding it until it was shrouded in green. He could feel tension seep out of Clint’s body as the seidr slowly and gradually began to replace the sickness caused by the Soul Stone, and Loki put more energy into the spell. As he did, he cradled Clint’s soul in his hands and examined the sickness left by the Soul Stone.

By his reckoning, it was nothing that could not be fixed. It would merely take time. But it was concerning. They were in uncharted territory here with the Stones; the only research done on long term exposure to an Infinity Stone had been done by the sorcerers at the Kamar-Taj, and they only had access to the Time Stone.

Clint was more seidr than not, now. His soul settled as Loki’s seidr surrounded and cradled it. As Loki examined his soul, he did not believe that the Soul Stone had acted upon his seidr. His reasoning that the Soul Stone had poisoned his soul was looking more and more certain. It was all hypotheses until he could speak with Stephen anyway.

Loki continued to wrap Clint’s soul with seidr until it began to regain some of its health, and then he stopped, holding the small, quivering thing within his hands. It seemed healthier but still rather sick. Poor thing. Loki pet it with his fingers as he sat against Clint’s heart and thought.

He had supposed that the Soul Stone needed to be wielded by someone with considerable strength of soul. Clint could not even have been taken by Hela because his soul was not his own, and Loki could extrapolate from that that perhaps the Soul Stone poisoned him because it somehow knew he was not his own. It was certainly an avenue to explore.

Loki settled Clint’s soul back behind his heart and watched it for a moment, wrapping it in seidr one last time, and then carefully extracted himself from Clint’s body, letting out a small gasp as he came back to himself. He glanced around the infirmary and Clint caught his hand as Loki pulled it away.

_You look better,_ Loki said softly as he watched Clint catch his breath. _Still not well and hale, but you are on your way to healing._

Clint turned his head to look at Stephen, who was watching them with thinly veiled concern. “What did you find?” Stephen asked, his deep voice low and quiet.

“He is still very sick,” Loki replied. “I must return to Asgard to look through the libraries and speak with our seidrmadrs, some of whom had contact with Infinity Stones. There is also the matter of the King’s advisors to contend with, and I believe I have an answer to that.”

“Sir,” Clint said, struggling to sit up, but Loki pushed him back down. “You can’t—”

“You will return to your home while you heal,” Loki ordered, one hand pressing firmly on Clint’s chest. “Perhaps the good doctor here would accompany you.”

Clint sighed and sank back into the pillows with a frustrated groan.

“We all have our duties,” Loki continued quietly, “and for now, yours is to heal. You were under the influence of the Soul Stone for a great while, and it caused considerable damage to your soul. This is not something I take lightly, pet. This is not something that can be healed with potions or spells or any manner of seidr. All that will help is time. You know this as well as I do; there is nothing that can be done for soul-sickness. I have helped as much as I can.”

Clint glanced at Stephen and then back up at Loki with a glare. _My soul would heal faster with you around,_ he argued.

_Why do you think I am sending you home? There is no where in any realm that has more of my seidr upon and inside of it. It is not as if I cannot be at your side instantaneously._ He smiled thinly. _You must rest. This is an order._

Clint groaned. _I hate orders._

_Do you now?_

“You did not reply to my request, Stephen,” Loki said, looking away from Clint to Stephen. “Would you not like to meet his wife and children?”

Stephen’s mouth thinned but then he dipped his chin. “Very well,” he said, brushing imaginary crumbs off his pant leg. “I will accompany him.”

Loki smiled at him.

* * *

Loki stood at the bottom of the stairs to the King’s throne, hands clasped behind his back, and he looked up the stairs to the high seat above. It was on those very same steps that he had decided to change his life, to take it back into his own hands, and to refuse to allow Thor to hurt him any longer.

He would not tie himself to another King. He could not. But he could help.

Asgard was his home, as much as anywhere _could_ be. His life was tethered both here and to Midgard. As much as he’d tried to fully sever himself from Asgard, he was continually pulled back. Either he could continue to fight his life’s path, or he could turn towards it and understand it had always been his place.

Loki grimaced to himself.

_Remember your place, brother,_ Thor always used to say to him. _Know where you belong._

He lifted his chin and turned to Balder, who had been waiting for him and would wait as long as it would take.

“I will not take up an official mantle,” Loki finally decided. “But even I cannot stand idly by while Asgard descends into chaos. Especially when it is chaos manufactured by Thor and Thanos.”

Balder stepped forward and rested his hands on Loki’s shoulders, Loki looking up at him. “I thank you, brother,” Balder said earnestly. “All I ask for is your ear.”

“And my silver tongue,” Loki teased, and Balder smiled at him and then pulled him in for a hug.

“Thank you,” Balder said again and then pulled back to look down at him. “I will do whatever it takes to make certain you never regret your decision, Loki. I _swear._ ”

Loki searched his face and slowly nodded. “Do as you must,” he decided, and pulled out of Balder’s grasp to look back up at the throne. “I will go in search of Thanos,” he announced. “We have been on the defense for too long. It is time we began this. I tire of waiting.”

“Take a guard with you,” Balder finally decided. “The Prince of Asgard should not go alone.”

Loki nodded slowly. “Nay,” he agreed, “He does not.”

* * *

The portal landed them on Clint’s front lawn. Clint sighed and motioned at the barn off to the side of the house. “That’s where all the weapons are, so if you need any, hop over there.” He waved his hand at the house. “This is a house.”

Stephen gave him a faintly amused look and helped Clint up the porch steps. He kept his hand on Clint’s back as Clint kicked open the front door.

“Honey!” Clint called, “I’m home!”

“Clint?” Laura called back from the kitchen. “Loki told me you were coming back. He gave me an entire list of rules—oh!” She’d come out of the kitchen and stopped in shock at seeing Stephen. “Hi there, I’m Laura.”

“Dr. Stephen Strange,” he replied, sliding his hand off Clint’s back and glancing around. “You have a very...welcoming home.”

She smiled at him. “Sure I do. Now, get him in here. Loki gave me a very specific set of rules to follow and I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

Stephen helped Clint into the kitchen and helped Laura bring over a few bowls of food for the archer as he carefully sat. “Don’t think _you_ could get on his bad side,” Clint muttered as Laura brushed a kiss over his cheek and threaded a hand through his hair. “Can’t believe he gave you a fuckin’ list of rules.”

Laura smiled at him. “He also bought us a new car,” she replied sweetly, pouring a mug of coffee that she handed to Stephen. He shakingly set it down on the table and watched as Laura sat down at the end of the table and pointedly motioned Clint towards his food. He took a bite and gagged, but forced it down.

“That’s to be expected,” Stephen spoke up as Clint continued to have a difficult time keeping his food down. “Your body went through a trauma. If you take it slowly, you should be alright.” He turned to look at Laura. “What kind of car did Loki buy?”

Laura shrugged. “He didn’t tell me. All he did was ask me what I needed and then immediately cut me off and had me speak to a salesman. I think I overheard something about gold coins before I got hung up on.” Clint rolled his eyes. “The car is supposed to show up in the next couple days.”

Stephen looked thoughtful as he carefully picked up his coffee and took a small sip. “Does Loki often buy things for your family?”

“He’s bad at showing affection,” Clint spoke up, forcing himself to eat another mouthful, “at least in ways other people understand it. So he buys things. Money is basically worthless to him so he throws it around.”

“He gives us $10,000 a month,” Laura told him. Stephen raised an eyebrow, impressed despite his best efforts otherwise. “And that’s at a minimum. Usually whenever he takes Clint somewhere for a long time, he’ll pay me.”

Clint raised an eyebrow at her. “I didn’t know about that.”

“This may surprise you,” Laura told him, “but even you don’t know everything about Loki.”

Stephen glanced uncomfortably between them and turned his attention to his coffee. Clint leaned around him to point his spoon at his wife. “It’s impossible for him to hide anything from me,” Clint told her. “Our whole thing is that he can’t keep secrets from me.”

Laura smiled at him. “Well, he managed to keep one.” She looked down at his bowl. “Finish eating, hon.”

Clint glared down at his food and grumbled to himself.

“So, Dr. Strange, what’s your field of practice?” Laura asked, turning to look at him.

“I was a surgeon,” he replied. “As well as having my medical degree. However, I am now Master of the New York Sanctum and Sorcerer Supreme.” For a moment, Stephen expected her to be impressed, but then he remembered she’d been living with Loki for however many years and probably nothing magic-related could possibly awe her. For some reason, he felt a deep need to impress her, show her that he was capable of taking care of her husband.

Well, he knew the reason.

“Sanctum of what?”

“The Masters of the Mystic Arts,” Stephen told her. “It is an organization founded many thousands of years ago by a man named Agamotto.” He motioned to the Eye, as always around his neck. “In order to protect Earth from extradimensional threats there were three Sanctums built that all hold up a shield around the planet.”

Clint raised his head at that and frowned as he thought.

“As Sorcerer Supreme, I am the most powerful of all the sorcerers, and I am also Master of the New York Sanctum, which means it is my utmost duty to keep the Sanctum and the Eye of Agamotto safe.”

Some tension eased in Stephen’s chest at the faintly impressed look on Laura’s face.

“Huh,” she muttered. “Well, I have kids.” Stephen smiled at her. “Do you have any children, Dr. Strange?”

“Just Stephen is fine, and no. Children are not in the cards for me.”

Laura raised an eyebrow at him. “How so? Can you be certain?”

Stephen motioned to the Eye around his neck. “This contains the Time Stone. I have seen thousands of possible futures in order to see our chances of defeating Thanos. Children were in none of them.”

She leaned closer and carefully, Stephen pulled the Eye of Agamotto from around his neck and put it in her hand. She examined it, holding it up to the light, and then looked back at Stephen. “Do you know what happens? To all of us?”

Stephen inclined his head. “Yes.” Laura handed him the Eye back and he carefully put it around his neck, tension in his chest easing as it was back in place. “I am only under obligation to tell someone a possible future if they are going to cause irreparable harm to themselves or others.”

Clint looked up from his almost empty bowl. “That’s why the Ancient One told Banner about what he was gonna do.”

Stephen nodded and took a slow sip of his coffee. “Yes. She knew that the only way to change what he would do was to allow him the knowledge of his future actions. I believe she did not know of what he would ask you to do, however.” He glanced at Laura, who looked uninterested and merely told Clint to finish eating.

Clint finished his food with a final dry heave and then pushed his bowl across the table. He yawned and sagged against Stephen’s side.

Stephen stiffened, glancing at Laura, who merely took Clint’s bowl over to the sink and brought him a glass of water. She stood over him as he drank it and then ordered him to bed.

Clint got up and staggered to Loki’s rooms, the doors opening for him with a loud creak. Laura leaned against the kitchen table and looked down at him, arms crossed over her chest. Stephen stopped himself from shifting uncomfortably, although he desperately wanted to.

“I don’t need one of those fancy necklaces to know my husband’s future,” Laura told him. “I’m aware he’s going to outlive me by a few thousand years. He’s not going to be married to me forever.” She sighed, tossed her hair over her shoulder. “He’s romantic enough to think that he will be, but I know him well enough.” Laura narrowed her eyes at him and Stephen met her gaze. “Eventually, it’s not going to be me you have to convince. It’s going to be Loki. But for now, I’m fine with it. I’m not the jealous type, never have been. Once he’s better and more himself, the three of us will talk about this. But for now, I’m going to go to bed with my husband. You’re welcome to join, and if not, there’s a couple guest rooms upstairs. Take the one that doesn’t belong to Barnes and Wilson; you’ll know what I mean if you look.” Laura patted him on the shoulder and picked up his coffee and finished it for him, Stephen watching the long length of her throat working as she swallowed.

Then she went into Loki’s rooms as well, and for a long while, Stephen sat at the kitchen table, thinking to himself.

Other than the futures where Clint was killed before Thanos came to Earth, he ended up with Stephen. It was inevitable. From the thousands of possible timelines Stephen had seen, there was no other future for Clint other than being in a relationship with Stephen. He had only caught glimpses, but Stephen had the impression they were some manner of soulmates. But this...he had never expected this. He had expected to wait until Laura died, and a decade or two after that for Clint to grieve, and then to carefully begin the courting process. Clint was worth it.

Stephen was no longer used to surprises. He often did not look at his own future, but he knew enough of the world’s future to have a general idea of how his own would turn out.

He supposed he should have expected Laura Barton to be surprising.

Carefully, Stephen stood and put his mug in the sink. Then he walked to the open doors of Loki’s rooms and toed his shoes off. He glanced around the room, raising an eyebrow at the decor. It was all very...Loki. All orante, very expensive, overstated and over the top. There were shelves filled with books and baubles across part of the far wall, with a relief of Captain America in the center, two landscapes carved on either side of him. A couch and a coffee table were off to the side, along with a small table and a few chairs. There were thick rugs over the wood floor, and cabinets on the near walls. The door to the presumed bedroom was open.

Stephen looked around again and then made his way over to the open door. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the low light and then he swallowed. The bed was _huge_. Stephen’s first shitty apartment while he’d been in college had been smaller than that bed. Clint was curled up in the middle under the covers, and Laura was leaning back against the headboard, a book in her lap.

She motioned to the empty side of the bed. Stephen nodded and stepped over to it, carefully setting the Eye on the nightstand and pulling off his socks and tunic. His Cloak floated off his shoulders and hung off one of the tall bedposts. He opened the covers and carefully eased under them, trying to not let Laura see the way his hands were shaking.

Clint automatically turned towards him and pressed his face into Stephen’s side. He slid one long fingered hand over Clint’s shoulders and looked up at the ceiling.

“Is it nerves?” Laura asked, her voice soft, motioning to his hands. “Or surgery or something?”

“I have permanent nerve damage from a car accident,” he replied, keeping his voice quiet. Clint sighed in his sleep and slung an arm over Stephen’s waist.

“Loki probably has a potion that could fix it,” she told him, turning her attention back to her book.

“He offered,” he told her. “I am also capable of healing them. I keep them like this to remind myself of my origins.”

Laura nodded and Stephen’s eyes fluttered closed, curling into Clint as he fell asleep.

* * *

Bucky looked down at Sam one last time. Eir’s mind soothing potions had brought him back from the ledge, but they’d also cleared his mind, and made something very obvious to him: Sam was better off without him. Bucky didn’t want it to be true, but it seemed so true and solid in his mind now. 

Eir had warned him that patients on high doses of mind soothing potions occasionally had irrational beliefs, and to keep an eye out for them, but this didn’t _feel_ irrational. It felt _right_. He’d known for a while that Sam was too good for him, and this felt like it was only affirming it.

He pressed a kiss to Sam’s forehead and then picked up his bag and silently left their quarters, softly shutting the door behind him. He made his way past the posted Einherjar, who merely nodded at him, and down the hall past Eir’s quarters. Bucky paused for a moment, thinking about waking her, and then he shook his head and made his way down the stairs. It was a long walk through the silent palace to the Bifrost Bridge, but no one stopped him. Guess there were perks to being friends with both of the princes.

Heimdall was waiting for him.

“Can you send me to Clint’s house on Earth?” Bucky asked, turning back to look at the palace and Asgard down the long length of the Bridge.

Heimdall inclined his head, but before he could say anything, Loki’s voice came from behind him. Bucky spun around to look at him, seeing Loki stand at the edge of the Observatory, hands clasped behind his back, looking out over the field of stars in front of him. “Instead of hiding behind the wards at home, perhaps you could come with me.”

“Where are you going?”

Loki turned to look at him. “To see the Devil.”

Bucky lifted his chin. “I’ve already met him.”

“Ah,” Loki tutted. “You have met _a_ Devil of Midgard. You have not met this one.”

Bucky nodded. “When do we leave?” Anything was better than sitting in the dark at Clint’s house and hating himself and letting his mind spin out on all the ways Sam was moving on without him.

“Now,” Loki told him, and held out a hand.


	7. chapter seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky Barnes meets the Devil. He's rather unimpressed. And then, something very bad happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> molestation cw. thor cw

“Vormir is at the center of the universe,” Loki told him, like Bucky cared at all. He was currently flexing and examining his new arm, which was made out of pure black seidr. Behind him was a fire giant from Muspelheim, named Natigus, who was apparently the strong, silent type, as he hadn’t said more than two words to Bucky ever since Loki had picked him up. 

Fire giants lived up to their name. Natigus was huge, at least ten feet tall, and made out of molten rocks and lava, with big horns coming out of his forehead and long, red nails. His eyes were hot coals and his mouth spat fire. Strangely enough, he didn’t radiate heat, but Bucky assumed he would be burnt if he touched the guy. At least, he assumed the giant was a guy. He wasn’t entirely sure how to ask about all that.

“It is also uninhabited,” Loki continued, “except for a single soul, the Keeper of the Soul Stone.” Bucky glanced around as if the Keeper was going to jump out at him from behind a rock. “He was put to rest after Clint and Steve managed to claim the Stone.”

“How did they manage that?” Natigus queried, his voice deep and sounding like rocks falling into a lake. Small jets of flame shot out from between his teeth as he spoke. 

Loki turned to look up at him. “Hela gave me a soul, which I then entrusted to Clint. The Soul Stone required an equal exchange of souls.”

Natigus huffed out a jet of smoke. “How did you get a soul from the Queen of Hel?”

“She is my sister,” Loki replied with a smile. “It was a wedding present.”

There was a small sound and the three of them turned to see Thanos and Gamora coming up the path between the rocks. Loki pushed to his feet and greeted Thanos with a small, smug smile. 

“You are too late,” Loki informed him, Thanos coming to a slow halt, glaring down at him. “It seems that we are still one step ahead of you, Thanos.”

Thanos frowned, turning to look at Gamora, who lifted her chin and glared at him. “The map led here,” Gamora spat out, “it said nothing about someone else also knowing where it is.” Her glare turned to Loki. “Especially when that someone else is _Loki._ ”

“Ah,” Loki replied, “so you have heard of me.”

Thanos raised his left hand, Reality Stone glittering in the Infinity Gauntlet. Loki’s eyes turned red. Thanos snapped his fingers and the scene changed to Thor’s bedroom. Both Bucky and Natigus looked around in confusion.

Thor appeared on his bed, bare-chested and long-haired and with a bright smile. He was younger than Loki remembered, perhaps only 1000. The door to his bedroom opened and a younger version of Loki ran in, barrelling into the bed, throwing his arms around Thor’s shoulders. Thor’s massive hands wrapped around Loki’s waist and he held Loki close, blue eyes blazing as he looked over his room and directly at Loki.

Loki raised an eyebrow and looked through the mirage and up at Thanos. “Is the memory of my brother meant to be a threat? May I remind you he is dead?”

Thor’s hand slid down to cup Loki’s hip.

Loki smiled and sat back down, crossing one of his legs over the other. “This was the first time he molested me,” he said for the benefit of Bucky and Natigus, who both looked horrified. “Of course, I did not realize it at the time. I am still rather unclear of the purpose of this, but do continue, Thanos. Perhaps you can show next the time I woke up in the middle of the night to my brother masturbating on top of me, or the various times he drugged me in order to stick his cock in my mouth?”

Thanos disappeared the illusion.

“Oh, did Thor not tell you that I knew? Did he truly believe I wouldn’t _know?_ I merely believed it was part of my duties.” Loki tapped his chin. “Did Thor tell you how many time loops he dragged me through, Thanos? He managed to do _all sorts_ of terrible things to me.”

For the first time, Thanos spoke. The Soul Stone being gone had clearly thrown him. He’d been grasping for straws with the memory, Loki knew. What he didn’t know was just how many other memories Thor had shown him, but Loki was fairly confident none of them could shock him. It was so satisfying to get one over on the Mad Titan. “You do not know who you speak with, boy,” he snarled. “I am _Thanos.”_

“You have one Infinity Stone,” Loki replied. “We have the rest. Whatever your plan is, it is finished.” He stood up, smoothed his hands down his heavy cloak and his tunic. Thanos made to speak but Loki held up a hand. “I have not underestimated you, Thanos. I know exactly what you are capable of. But you and Thor both underestimated me. I lived through the same time loops as he did, and I know just as much as he did. I still killed him, however, just as I will kill you.”

“All very pretty words,” Thanos finally grit out. “I have single handedly saved dozens, if not hundreds, of planets from extinction. I know what is best. I _will_ achieve my destiny.”

“Is that so,” Loki replied, bored of it already. “How many other orphans will you steal? We already took your Children, did we not?” He motioned to Gamora. “Seems that we missed one.”

Thanos’s mouth tightened. “The rumor of the Soul Stone is that it requires sacrifice,” he said, stepping up to the shrine. He ran the hand without the Gauntlet on it over one of the massive rocks that made up the shrine. “What did you sacrifice, Loki of Asgard?”

“My arm,” Bucky interrupted, motioning to his seidr arm. “Loki cut off my arm and the Soul Stone deemed it an acceptable sacrifice.”

Thanos turned and frowned at him, seeming only to just notice the presence of Bucky and Natigus. He clearly didn’t believe him but there was no obvious reason for Thanos to know any different. So the Mad Titan nodded, stepped up to the edge and peered over. “Is that why you are here?” Thanos asked of them. “To show me what I lost?”

Loki shrugged one shoulder. “Mostly I wanted to tell you that you are going to lose, and when you come to Earth, I am going to kill you.”

Thanos suddenly turned around and grabbed Gamora by the throat. He ignored her protests and lifted her off the ground, holding her over the edge of the cliff. “Where is the Soul Stone?”

“On Earth,” Loki replied, looking faintly amused by the whole situation. Natigus stepped up next to him, molten eyes intent on Gamora’s struggling form. “In very, ah, capable hands.”

Thanos snarled and in one movement, he released Gamora and Natigus moved as fast as fire over a dry field and caught her. Then Loki snapped his fingers and Bucky, Natigus, and Gamora disappeared, leaving Thanos and Loki alone on top of the mountain. Thanos looked around with a frown. Loki conjured up a comfortable set of armchairs and a small table with a tea set on it. He sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. Thanos attempted to dispel the illusion with the Reality Stone, but nothing seemed to change.

“I may be the only being in all the galaxy that is not afraid of you,” Loki said, stirring in sugar as Thanos slowly sat down. “You may have frightened me when you set up that entire City of Omnipotence scheme, but I have grown past that.”

“Is that so?” Thanos asked, picking up a teacup and crushing it in his hand. “You seem rather afraid of me.”

“My brother was so distraught by failing to kill you that he spent thousands of years dragging me through time loops and eventually, the spells he used twisted him up enough to make him believe you were a worthy ally. It is a rather sad story, if I may say so myself.” Loki took a sip of tea. “My brother, for all his plots and plans and schemes to get me back, was frightened of you. He saw you achieve your goal in that very first life, and did his best to stop you from ever doing it again.”

“How are you not afraid, then, when you have done all that your brother has?”

Loki smiled thinly. “I am smarter than you, Thanos. Thor was running. I have turned around to face you and tell you your fate. You may wish to take it now or face my armies.”

“Your armies?” Thanos repeated. “What armies does Loki of Asgard command?”

“Oh, as if you have not heard,” Loki said back, conjuring up another teacup and offering it to Thanos, who merely glared at him. “I have united the Nine Realms against you. Whatever armies you bring, I will bring more. Whatever power you believe you have, I have more.” Loki pulled out a long, sharp sword from under his cloak. “So, I give you two options, Thanos: lay down your life here, and you will die with honor. Or come to Midgard and you will still die, but your death will be after we have killed everyone loyal to you, and your death will be small and pitiful, and Thanos will be _no one._ ”

Thanos attacked.

He charged through the illusion and it disappeared. Thanos caught himself on a rock and spun around, seeing Loki standing at the edge of the cliff, hands shrouded in seidr. Loki smirked at him.

“Oh, to have the Reality Stone and to not be able to see through a small illusion,” Loki mocked, and Thanos charged again, pulling out blades from sheaths on his belt and slicing through Loki’s illusion. More and more Loki’s appeared around him, and Thanos sliced through all of them, the illusions disappearing in green smoke. Finally, Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet and sent out a blast of power, the illusions shivering and then disappearing.

Loki was sitting on a rock, legs crossed, chin resting on one of his hands.

Thanos took in a deep breath and let it out with a snarl. “I will kill you,” he seethed. “I will show you my true wrath. You believe what I did to you in past lives was torture? Oh, you have not seen what I am truly capable of. You are an ant beneath my boot. You are _nothing_. I will tear you to pieces, Loki of Asgard, and I will do it in front of everyone who loves you.”

Loki’s voice came from behind him. “Oh, leave the speeches to those better than you.”

Thanos turned around and Natigus kicked him off the cliff.

The illusion of Loki on the rock disappeared and he stepped out from behind an illusion ward that looked like the back of the mountain, Bucky and Gamora coming with him. Loki peered over the edge of the cliff, where Thanos was curled up at the bottom of the cliff.

“Is he dead?” Bucky asked.

Loki shook his head. “Perhaps wounded at the most. A fall such as that would not kill a being such as Thanos. He is stunned and will come to in a few minutes.” He turned to look at Gamora, who looked furious. “Do you wish to be here when he wakes, or would you like to come with us?”

Gamora glared at him. “Get me away from him,” she finally spat out, crossing her arms over her chest after pulling out a ruby-embedded double-ended switchblade.

Loki held out the Tesseract and took them all away.

At the bottom of the cliff, Thanos sat up and roared out Loki’s name.

* * *

Steve blinked a few times. “There’s aliens in my living room?” he repeated around a yawn. “God, it’s like 4am, Loki.”

Loki shrugged and perched on the bed next to Steve, running his hand over Steve’s bare chest. Steve shivered. “One of them is Thanos’s daughter, the other is from Muspelheim. He is a commander of armies similar to yourself.”

“What’s Muspelheim?” Steve asked as he climbed out of bed, blearily searching for a shirt and a pair of pants. Loki handed him a small vial and Steve almost took a drink of it before remembering himself and peering at the color. “What is it?”

“A new version of an energizing potion,” Loki offered up. “It should not have the same effects as the red one.”

“What’s it do?”

“Merely wakes you up with a burst of energy.”

Steve gave the vial a dubious look and then handed it back. “I’m not taking a potion that Clint hasn’t even tried when it sounds like you just made yellow coffee. Get me a cup of coffee and, also, _again_ , what’s Muspelheim?”

Loki gave him an amused look and vanished the potion as he watched Steve dress, conjuring up a cup of coffee for him. Steve took it after he pulled on his shirt and took a sip while Loki explained, “Muspelheim is one of the Nine. It is a realm of fire. It is mostly oceans of lava, with floating continents that the residents tether together as they float amongst the lava. The beings there are called, in common tongue, fire giants. I believe they call themselves _brenna_ , or ‘those on fire’. It is most adjacent to Utgard, if I remember correctly, as well as Ydallir.”

Steve looked interested for a moment before the bedroom door opened and Bucky stepped in, Steve’s eyes going immediately to his seidr arm, handing the cup of coffee back to Loki.

“Bucky? What are you doing—why aren’t you on Asgard?”

Bucky sighed. “Long story. Anyway, when are you two coming out? Gamora is pissed.”

Loki stood up and smoothed down his cloak, giving Steve the cup of coffee back. “Well, her adoptive father did just attempt to murder her,” he mused. “I suppose that is sympathetic.”

“Hold on,” Steve called as Loki swept past Bucky out of the bedroom. Steve turned to look at Bucky with a helpless look. “What the hell is going on?”

Bucky sighed. “Wish I knew,” he muttered. “Loki is on a whole ‘nother level.”

“Did he say you guys went to go see _Thanos?_ ”

“Again, Stevie, he’s really somethin’ else.”

The two of them left the bedroom and Steve blinked a few times at seeing a massive fire giant in his living room. He finished the coffee and held out the cup so Loki could refill it, which the god did with a casual wave of his hand from where he was perched on the back of the couch.

“I’m Steve Rogers,” Steve introduced himself. “Loki’s husband.” Gamora and Natigus introduced themselves, a bit angrily and reluctantly on Gamora’s part, and then Steve nodded and swept his hair off his face and leaned back against the wall next to the bedroom door. “Alright, start from the beginning. FRIDAY, you recording this?”

“Yes, Captain,” came the robot’s voice from the corner, and a small blue light turned on. “I have also awoken Lady Sif, and she should arrive at any moment.”

Just a second later, the door to Steve’s quarters opened and Sif came in, haphazardly dressed with pajama bottoms on and her chest armor unbuckled on one side. She carried her spear and Loki waved his hand, quickly setting her to rights. Sif glanced around at all of them and raised her spear to Natigus as she stepped to Steve’s side. “It is good to see you again,” she said to the fire giant, who bowed his head to her.

Loki motioned everyone to sit down as he settled on the end of the couch, Steve sitting next to him, Bucky on his other side. Sif stood at the other end of the couch while Gamora took one of the armchairs. Natigus frowned down at the other chair, puffing out a bit of smoke. Loki spelled it to be inflammable and Natigus nodded to him and then carefully sat down, grimacing when the armchair creaked.

“I spoke to Balder and formally gave him my notice to fully partake in my duties as prince. I will be acting in an advisory capacity whenever I am upon Asgard.” Loki’s mouth tightened and Steve took his hand. “I also chose at the time to go find Thanos. I went to Muspelheim, as I recalled one of Natigus’s lieutenants saying they desired to meet Thanos in person to ascertain what manner of a threat the Titan is, and offered for Natigus to go with me as my formal guard, as Clint is indisposed. I found Bucky attempting to escape from Asgard, so I offered for him to go with.” Steve looked at Bucky, eyebrows raised, and Bucky just sighed and shook his head.

“We met Thanos upon Vormir,” Loki continued, sounding bored with his own story. “I managed to outwit—”

“You talked for 20 minutes about how smart you are and eventually got Thanos so pissed off that he basically tried to kill himself instead of listening to you any longer,” Bucky interjected, Loki giving him an amused look. “I was almost on his side by the end of it.”

Gamora finally spoke up, “How did you know he was headed for the Soul Stone?”

Loki shrugged. “Hela has all of the souls of the Black Order, besides you, of course. She also found the soul of the Other and the rest of his hounds. Nearly twenty of them. She asked them for Thanos’s plans, and what little information she got, she gave to me.”

“Hold on,” Steve interrupted, “when the hell did you do this?”

“A few nights ago,” Loki replied. “After I began the repairs on Clint’s soul.”

“What’s wrong with Barton?” Bucky asked. “His soul?”

“The Soul Stone has been poisoning his soul,” Loki replied. “I believe it can sense he was not powerful enough to wield it.”

“You told Thanos that he sacrificed his arm,” Gamora said, thumbing at Bucky, who shook his head.

“We sacrificed a soul,” Steve told her. “Not an arm. The deal was a soul for a soul.”

“How did you get your hands on a soul?” Gamora asked, Natigus echoing her question.

Loki sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “It was a marriage gift from Hela, who I went to talk to to see if she knew of any others who suffered from soul poisoning. She deals in the dead, after all.”

“Wait, is Clint going to die?”

Loki shook his head at Steve. “Of course not. But if I know how others died, then I can know what not to do.”

_How serious is this? I thought he was just sick, not on the verge of death._

Loki glanced at Steve and then looked away from him, conjuring a chalice of wine and taking a small drink. _I would not visit with Hela if I was not worried. Soul sickness can be deadly very quickly._

Steve sighed and looked back at their guest. “Alright, you talked to Hela. What next?”

“Then I went to Asgard to speak with Balder, then to Muspelheim, and then back to Asgard to speak with Heimdall, during which I watched Bucky attempt to leave Asgard. So I offered for him—”

“You already said this,” Gamora interrupted, pulling out her switchblade and pressing down on the ruby in the middle. A blade came out of each end and she spun the knife in her palm. Next to Loki, Sif stiffened, hand tightening on her spear. “Thanos sent each of his Children to find the whereabouts of an Infinity Stone. My duty was the Soul Stone. I found the map and burned it. I lied to Thanos but he _knew_. He always knows.” She snarled, curling her fingers around the handle of the switchblade. “All of the other Stones were missing. There was nothing on Xandar, nothing from Thor on the Mind Stone or the Tesseract, no way to get the Time Stone, and he only managed to find the Reality Stone by pure luck. Now with the Soul Stone being gone…” Gamora trailed off and shook her head. “Thanos will have to find another way to achieve his goal.”

“Is there another way?” Loki asked.

She sighed. “He could continue going to each individual planet, but after his Order disappeared, that has stopped. He does not have the armies nor the resources to continue killing half of each planet he comes across. It’s inefficient. I believe the Infinity Stones are his last resort.”

Loki stroked his chin as he thought.

“How many are his armies?” Natigus questioned Gamora, who sighed.

“At the height of his power, perhaps hundreds of thousands. Now? Possibly a similar number, but surely less. Many joined him instead of losing their lives, or had loyalty to members of his Order. However, he has the Outriders, which are creatures solely dedicated to Thanos’s cause. They will tear through whatever barriers you have built, whatever defenses you have, they will kill themselves to tear it all down. And they are endless.”

“Now we know about them,” Bucky spoke up, looking down the couch to Loki, who nodded slowly, green eyes intent on Gamora. “She gives us information about them, you create wards that they can’t get through. What else?”

Loki nodded to himself. “I must speak with Clint and Balder,” he decided, and turned to Natigus. “I will take you to Asgard, and Heimdall will return you to Muspelheim.” Natigus nodded in agreement. “Bucky, decide where you wish to go. Gamora, you will be placed in a secure room inside this facility until it is established that you can be trusted or not.”

She looked to protest and then her gaze caught Sif’s, and Gamora nodded.

“Steve?”

“I’ll go with you,” Steve decided. “We both will.”

Sif nodded in agreement.

Loki pulled out the Tesseract and activated it, sending Natigus through after giving the giant a formal goodbye. Then he turned to Gamora.

 _Is there some manner of dungeon within this facility?_ Loki asked Steve. _She is going to be far stronger and far more powerful than we expect. She must be contained._

 _We have holding cells,_ Steve offered up, sending Loki a mental picture of one of them. _You can reinforce them and FRIDAY will keep constant surveillance on her, as well as rotating SHIELD agents._

 _That works,_ Loki decided, already formulating plans. “Come with us,” he told Gamora, and led them all out of Steve’s rooms.

* * *

“It’s five in the morning,” Tony complained as he came down the hallway to the holding cells. Behind him were Bruce and Fury, both of whom looked similarly displeased at being woken up so early. “What couldn’t have waited until a more reasonable hour, Loki? Say even _seven_ AM?”

He froze at seeing Gamora in one of the cells.

“Is that an alien?”

“She would consider you an alien,” Loki offered up, bringing down another ward over the cell. “You are a peculiar looking creature, Stark, even by human standards.”

“Hey!”

“Settle down, boys,” Natasha called from down the hall, Valkyrie and her coming from the opposite direction as Tony. She stopped outside the cell. “I’m Natasha. This is Brunnhilde. Where are you from?”

“Zen-Whoberi,” Gamora replied, her voice subdued. SHIELD agents had taken her clothes and weapons and given her a basic SHIELD outfit, all grey and black and boring. She was sitting on the small bed in her cell, hands clasped between her knees, looking through her long hair out through the plexiglass of the cell wall. “Are you all Terrans?”

“Other than myself and the Valkyrie, of course, yes,” Loki replied for them, bringing down another ward. “A diverse race, aren’t they?”

Gamora snorted and motioned to Valkyrie. “I know you,” she said, eyes narrowed. “I have come across you in my travels.”

“King Balder found me upon Sakaar,” Valkyrie told her, and Gamora nodded.

“I spent some time there on my hunt for the Soul Stone,” Gamora told her. “It is a rather...unique place, is it not?”

“Good liquor,” Valkyrie offered up. “That’s mostly what I remember.”

“That’s enough,” Fury decided. “Loki, what is she doing here?”

“She is Thanos’s daughter,” Loki replied. “She is in the cell until her loyalty can be assured.” Loki glanced around the gathered people and rolled his eyes. 

Steve and Bucky leaned against the far wall, both of them crossing their arms over their chests. “Where’s Sam?” Steve asked, keeping his voice low as Fury and Tony argued over whose jurisdiction it was to keep an alien prisoner inside the Avengers Facility. 

“Asgard,” Bucky replied just as quietly. “I...I left him there.”

Steve shot him a shocked look. “You did what?”

“I’ve been thinking,” Bucky sighed. “It sounds stupid now, but it made sense back then. Steve, he’s...Sam’s a good man. A _good_ man. Nothing like me. Nothing like what I’ve done. He’s _Captain America_ , Steve.”

“So am I,” Steve pointed out, “and as people like to remind me, I’m married to the God of Mischief. How is that any worse than what you’ve done?”

“I killed people,” Bucky hissed. “ _Dozens_ of them. With my _hands.”_

“Sam was in the Air Force,” Steve countered, the two of them walking down the hall so no one could overhear them. “He killed people too. So have I, so have all of us. Is it the potions you’re on telling you all this?”

“Eir told me they can cause irrational thinking,” Bucky muttered, almost ashamed of it. “This doesn’t _feel_ irrational, though, Stevie.”

As if on cue, the cell phone in Steve’s pocket began to ring. He answered it without looking.

“Yeah, hi Sam. Yeah, I know where he is. Loki wanted his help.”

Bucky sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face, and then he shot his seidr arm a dark look.

“He says he’s sorry he didn’t leave a note, Loki basically pulled him out of bed. I’ll ask Loki when he’s going to come back.” Steve moved the phone away from his mouth and called out, “Loki, when can Bucky go back to Asgard?”

Loki turned away from creating a final ward to frown down the hall at Steve. “Whenever he wishes,” Loki replied with a frown. “Call for Heimdall if he needs to return.”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll go to Clint’s house first,” he muttered to Steve, not loud enough for the phone to pick it up.

“You hear that?” Steve asked Sam. “No? They have one more stop to make then Bucky will come back. Sorry again, Sam. Yeah, he’s fine. Yeah, I’ll tell Loki.” Steve ended the phone call and slid his cell phone back into his pocket. He gave Bucky an amused glance. “Sam wants Loki to know he’s a nosy, interfering busybody.”

Bucky shot him a small smile. “Make sure I’m around when you tell Loki he said that.”

“I might save it for a rainy day,” Steve mused. “But, Buck, when you go back to Asgard, you have to talk to Eir. You need to take care of yourself. This whole thing that happened with Clint”—Steve shook his head—“wasn’t good, alright? But you need help, and you’re in a rare position. You have all the resources in the world.”

“Nobody ever had problems like this when we were younger,” Bucky griped.

“Sure they did,” Steve argued lightly. “They just never talked about it and ended up drinking themselves to death or beating up their wives.” Bucky snorted. Steve reached forward and grabbed Bucky’s shoulder, their eyes meeting. “You need to take care of yourself, man. If not for yourself, then for me. For Sam. For Clint, Loki, anyone. Whatever it takes for you to stay alive is all that matters.”

Bucky searched Steve’s face and nodded slowly, doing his best to believe him.

* * *

_Three of you in one bed,_ Loki’s voice mused, Clint jerking awake and scrambling out from underneath Stephen and Laura’s arms. He sat up and rubbed at his ears. His hearing aids were on the nightstand. He blearily looked around the bedroom but didn’t see Loki. Shoulders slumping, Clint laid back down. _Your wife approves of the doctor being in your bed?_

Clint squeezed his eyes shut. He missed Loki so bad his chest hurt. _From what I gathered, she’s the one who invited him. I’ve just been kind of rolling with it._

_Is this common in your culture?_

_Not really,_ Clint sighed. _Where are you?_

Invisible fingers slid through his hair and Clint turned into his touch. _On the couch. Do you need assistance in getting out of bed?_

Clint tried to climb over Stephen, but his arms gave out. _Yeah,_ he whined, and long, cool fingers grasped his biceps and torso and lifted him out of bed. He slumped against Loki with a sigh, closing his eyes as Loki carefully carried him to the couch. _Why’m so tired?_

_Your soul is still healing._

_Fix it already,_ Clint grumped as he settled against Loki’s thin chest. _What kinda god can’t even fix a damn soul?_

 _I suppose a terribly untalented one,_ Loki murmured, carding his hand through Clint’s hair.

Clint grumbled. _How was Hela?_

_Oh, I suppose as uncharismatic as always. She was rather resistant to the entire idea of assisting me, but I convinced her otherwise._

_What’d you use?_

_The Soul Stone, of course. It is all she wants._

_‘m I worth it?_

Loki smiled a bit. _Not in the slightest._

Clint snorted. _Cap seemed surprised. It’s like he forgot you instead of you forgetting him._

_He always thinks the best of people and, I believe, enjoys being surprised when people let him down. It must happen rarely, after all, given who he is._

Clint nodded and yawned. _Alright,_ he murmured. _Love you._

 _And I you,_ Loki replied, and pet Clint’s hair as he fell back asleep.

In the morning, Laura woke Loki up by kissing him on the forehead. “Breakfast?” she asked quietly. “How’s he doing?”

Loki waved a hand and seidr slid from his hand and to the kitchen. Laura smiled at him and sat down at the end of the couch, taking Clint’s feet into her lap. “He heals slowly,” Loki replied. “But his soul is healthier than it was a few days ago.” He glanced at the open bedroom door. “I see you have brought Stephen Strange to your bed.”

Laura shrugged. “Nothing’s happened yet,” she told him unapologetically. “But I could tell he was enamoured with Clint the second they walked inside. And what can I say? He’s good-looking and powerful.” She frowned briefly. “Wait, he is, right?”

“I suppose attractiveness is subjective,” Loki mused, putting on a face like he was genuinely thinking about it.

Laura rolled her eyes at him. “No, you dummy. Powerful.”

“Oh, yes, then, I suppose he is. The Sorcerer Supreme is generally considered to be rather powerful. For Midgard standards, anyway. Compared to me, he is no better than an infant.”

“I guess no one can compare to you,” Laura said with a small smile. Loki smirked at her and calmed Clint back down when the archer began to wake. “He told me he’s going to live a few hundred years.”

“At minimum,” Loki considered. “The last Sorcerer Supreme pulled power from the dark dimension to elongate her lifespan beyond natural means. Stephen could surely do the same, and he is certainly intelligent enough to find a better way. There is nothing to suggest Stephen could not live the next thousand years without relative ease. If he became close with Clint, of course, I would feel obligated to assist Stephen in that matter.”

“Of course,” Laura repeated with a small smile, stroking her fingers over one of Clint’s ankles. “Loki, I’m...I’m glad it’s you.” She reached over and caught one of Loki’s hands. “I know I’ve asked you before, but you’d die for him, right?”

“Without hesitation,” Loki replied, turning his head to listen to something from the kitchen. A moment later, a tendril of seidr came in, carrying three mugs of coffee. Loki set one of them on the coffee table and waved the other under Clint’s nose, the archer jerking awake and sleepily grabbing for it. Laura took her own cup and sipped at it. “Do not tell my husband this, but Clint comes first in my heart. Steve is a close second, of course, but none has ever been so dear to me as Clint.”

Laura nodded firmly. “Good,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “He better.” She turned her head. “Come on out, Stephen. Got coffee waiting.”

Stephen poked his head out of Loki’s bedroom, visibly blanched at seeing Loki, and hurriedly dressed in one of Steve’s sweatshirts and a pair of Clint’s sweatpants. Loki shot him an amused look and floated his cup of coffee over to him as Stephen sat down in the armchair.

Clint sat up against the back of the couch as he cradled his coffee in his hands, eyes barely slit open as he sipped at it. _Chest hurts,_ he muttered to Loki, who raised an eyebrow and swiftly reached forward to take the cup of coffee away from him. Clint groaned and turned to Laura, who shook her head with a small smile. _Come on!_ he wheedled, turning to Loki. _It doesn’t even hurt that bad. Just an ache._

_If your soul is hurting, caffeine will do you no good. Breakfast will help. You must take care of yourself._

Stephen had been slowly looking between them, one hand holding his mug of coffee on the arm of the chair, the other slowly spinning a small bit of orange seidr, and he suddenly said, “You two can speak telepathically. _That’s_ what I’ve been sensing.”

 _What’d he say?_ Clint asked. Loki summoned his hearing aids and Clint grumbled to himself as he slid them in and turned them on. Loki shot him an amused look. “Say that again, Doc?”

“Telepathy,” Stephen repeated, looking between them. “Is that how you’re communicating?”

“Well, he is deaf,” Loki mused, taking a sip of Clint’s coffee. “So I suppose we must communicate somehow.”

“We’re bonded,” Clint reminded Stephen. “Telepathy is part of that. We can also talk to Cap that way, but that was part of their marriage bonds. Nothing to do with me.”

“What are the spell components of such a thing?” Stephen asked, looking between Clint and Loki, who raised an eyebrow at him and then brushed Clint’s hair off his neck and showed off the stone hidden behind his ear.

“I used Asgardian gold coins as a grounding mechanism,” Loki began, settling back against the arm of the couch as he spoke. “Bond seidr works best when it has something to funnel through, a type of third party, so to speak. Gold is a wonderful conductor of seidr. That is one of the reasons Asgard is so plentiful with it, as it is easy to use and manipulate. But all I did for our bonds was complete them, as the Mind Stone had already begun them. It was an entirely different process for when I was bound to Steve.” They all paused as Loki’s seidr brought in plates for all of them, Clint taking a plate for him and Loki to share. Laura and Stephen ate in quiet as Loki continued to speak, “Although the ingredients of some of our potions are highly guarded from outsiders, I suppose I could happen to leave a list around my quarters that you could stumble upon. But I would need something in return, of course.”

“Of course,” Stephen replied, shakingly picking up a forkful of eggs and eating them. His quick eyes flickered between Loki and Clint on the couch, and then down to Laura, who was ignoring the lot of them in favor of her phone.

“Loki?” came Bucky’s voice from the hall outside Loki’s rooms.

“In here,” Loki called back. “Food is in the kitchen.”

“That’s generally where it is,” Bucky snarked quietly, causing Clint and Loki to simultaneously roll their eyes. He came into Loki’s rooms a few minutes later, dragging over another armchair and sitting on Loki’s end of the couch. Loki reached out for him and affectionately ran his fingers over Bucky’s arm.

Clint lifted his head and ran his eyes over Bucky, catching on his black seidr arm. “How’s that working for you?” Clint asked. “You think you’ll keep it?”

Bucky considered his arm as his quick fingers picked apart a piece of toast and dipped it in oatmeal. Stephen and Clint shared a grimace. “Loki tied it to a stone.” Bucky pulled a gem out of his pyjama pants pocket and closed his fist around it, his seidr arm vanishing. He squeezed his fist again and the seidr arm reappeared again. Bucky nodded at Loki and said, “It’s...it’s good. Makes me feel like I have a choice. Life’s easier with two arms.”

Clint considered that. “Probably makes the ol’ reach-around easier,” he mused, and Laura and Loki both reached over to slap him on the back of the head. “Hey!”

Bucky snorted. “You’re not wrong,” he told Clint around a piece of toast. Clint turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Laura, who rolled her eyes at him and pushed to her feet.

“I have to go pick the kids up,” she told Clint, and brushed a kiss over his cheek before leaving Loki’s rooms and going upstairs. Clint scooted down the couch and kicked his feet up onto the far arm, head still in Loki’s lap. Bucky stood up and came around the couch and picked up Clint’s feet, taking Laura’s spot. Clint reached down and caught Bucky’s hand in his, eyes sliding shut. Loki pulled out his hearing aids and set them on the coffee table as Clint fell back asleep.

“How fares your mind?” Loki asked Bucky. “The potions should be out of your system.”

Bucky sighed and glanced uncomfortably at Stephen before turning and looking at Loki. “Clearer,” he replied. “It all made sense, you know, everything I was thinking. It didn’t _feel_ irrational, and I still kind of half believe it, but I think I’m better than I was before.”

“Before?”

Bucky swallowed. “Before I asked Clint to kill me,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t...Loki, I don’t think I should’ve asked him to do that.”

“Perhaps,” Loki allowed. “But desperation often drives us to extreme acts.”

“You asked him to kill you?” Stephen asked.

“Shuri said she got the words out of my head,” Bucky told him, turning his head to look at Stephen through his hair. “There wasn’t anyone else I could ask to make sure and to take me out if the Soldier was still there.”

“The Winter Soldier,” Stephen clarified, and Bucky nodded. “What words?”

“Activation words,” Loki told him when Bucky seemed unable to answer. “The machine HYDRA used upon him fractured him and they built a new person from the remains of Bucky’s mind. The Winter Soldier. Emotionless, ruthless, remorseless. The perfect assassin.” He took a sip of coffee and pet Clint’s hair. 

Bucky swallowed thickly and nodded.

Stephen fiddled with his own coffee. “How often is it that people ask Barton to kill them?”

“Seems to be a fairly regular occurrence,” Loki mused. “I wonder what that says about him.”

* * *

“My suspicions were correct,” Valkyrie finished up, motioning to the monitor behind her. “Power Enterprises was behind the attack on Barton’s farm and their agents were identified as HYDRA agents.” From next to her, Natasha pushed a button and the faces of the deceased agents showed up on the monitor. “We went through the connections between Paul Remond and the men in Secretary Ross’s payroll that had ties to HYDRA, which led us back to Power Enterprises.”

From the other end of the table, Steve and Tony both let out sighs.

“This is so unnecessarily convoluted,” Tony muttered. “How did we take down HYDRA and they’re still around?”

“Because HYDRA had contingency plans,” Natasha replied. “An organization like that doesn’t spend decades infiltrating the government all over the world just to be taken down because we know about them.”

From one of the projected monitors up on the wall, Bruce said, “What do we do with this information?”

“We take them down,” Steve decided, looking around the room. “Once and for all. We stop them.”

“Hold on,” Tony said, holding up a hand. He fiddled with someone on his Starkphone and then looked up. “Let’s do this the easy way.” He tapped something on his phone and the monitor behind Natasha and Valkyrie changed to a picture of the Power Enterprises logo. A moment later, it changed to the Stark Industries logo. “I just bought the company.”

Steve sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin. “Glad to see you’re working with us instead of them this time, Tony,” he said.

“Wait, you know about that?”

“Have for a while,” Steve said with a shrug. He motioned to Natasha and Valkyrie, who were exchanging glances. “What’s next, then? That’s just it?”

“S.I. will absorb the good parts of the company, if there are any, and get rid of the rest.” Tony looked at Natasha and Valkyrie. “I’ll let you two head that up.” A moment later, his phone rang, and he frowned down at the number and then picked up the call, blinking in shock. Once he was done with the call he looked at Steve. “Call your boy toy, Cap. Barnes’s sister is dead.”

* * *

Becca’s funeral came on a cloudy, breezy day. Sam came back from Asgard as soon as Heimdall sent word to him, and had spent the past few days holed up with Bucky in their room at Clint’s house while Steve talked on the phone with Becca’s kids about funeral plans. He ended up transporting himself to Helen’s house and spending the night before the funeral with her and her wife. Loki and Clint joined them the morning of the funeral, Loki uncomfortably giving Helen and Jamie an envelope of money each. He didn’t know what else to do and money seemed like a good enough decision.

Stephen sent Bucky and Sam through a portal a few minutes before the viewing started, the two of them stepping out into a small room set aside for family members. Loki and Clint joined them, the two of them dressed in black suits. Loki walked forward and clasped both of his hands around Bucky’s forearm, the two of them looking at each other for a long, somber moment.

“Do you wish for any of us to go with?” Loki queried.

“With for what?” Bucky rasped out as Loki stepped back, hands dropping from Bucky’s arm.

“The viewing of the deceased,” Loki replied, turning his head as the door to the room opened and Steve walked in. Steve sighed at the lot of them and walked forward to give Bucky a hug. The two of them clung to each other for a few minutes, Bucky’s face pressed to Steve’s neck, drawing in shuddering breaths. 

“She went easy,” Steve said quietly into Bucky’s hair. Sam reached out and rested his hand on Steve’s arm. “In her sleep. Wish I could’ve seen her again.”

Bucky nodded and pulled away from Steve, wiping away tears before reaching out a hand for Sam, who took it and held on tight. “She was happy,” Bucky said quietly, both Clint and Sam nodding in agreement. “I want to see her.” He looked between everyone gathered around and nodded to himself. “Sam…”

“Don’t worry, babe,” Sam assured him, sliding a hand over Bucky’s back. “Every step of the way.”

Bucky nodded and Steve led them out of the room, Clint and Loki trailing behind. Steve showed them to the viewing room and then after making sure there wasn’t anyone else in there, opened the door and then took up post outside of it, Clint and Loki leaning against the wall across from him. A few people stopped to talk to Steve and shake his hand, but no one paid the two of them any mind.

 _How was she?_ Loki asked. _When you went to see her?_

_I mean, she was old as hell, but seemed sharp enough. Her nurse said she had off days, of course, but so does everyone._

Loki nodded, watching as Jamie, Becca’s son, walked down the hall and stopped in front of Steve, the two of them hugging each other and then talked in quiet tones. _Humans live such short lives, yet grieve each death as if it is something new._

_I think when your life isn’t very long, everything is sharper._

Loki gave him a considering look and then tipped his head. _That would make sense if humans weren’t such dull creatures._

Clint snorted.

Jamie said something to Steve as they separated from their hug and Steve nodded and then motioned to Loki, who grimaced as Jamie turned and walked across the hallway to him.

“Loki?” Jamie asked, sighing as Loki nodded. “I just wanted to say thank you. Um, Uncle Bucky said you found her? So they could see each other again?”

“That was me, actually,” Clint piped up. Jamie looked at him. “I’m Clint.”

“Right,” Jamie said slowly. “Anyway, whichever one of you did it, thank you. I could never get time away from work to go see her, but I talked to her once a month. She was so happy she got to see Bucky again. I know he’s gone through some stuff, but family is everything to me, and I’m just glad he’s with us again.” He smiled and Loki and Clint exchanged looks at the way it changed his face to look _just_ like Bucky. “I grew up hearing about all the dumb shit Steve and Bucky got up to. I never thought I’d meet either of them. So thank you for giving me that.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably and then nodded to the two of them and walked off to the small crowd of people gathered in the chapel. 

_As I said,_ Loki said as the door behind Steve opened and Bucky and Sam came out, _what a peculiar race._

“She looks peaceful,” Bucky told them. “Do you two want to see her?” he asked Clint and Loki, who exchanged panicked glances. Bucky snorted when neither of them replied. “Never seen a dead person before, is that it?”

“No,” Loki replied gravely. “In fact, it would be such a shock to my system that I would certainly be the next to perish. Would you enjoy two funerals, Bucky?”

Bucky pretended to think about it as he let out a wet chuckle. “Maybe give me a week, Loki.” He took in a deep breath and looked around the people waiting for their turn to view the body. “I don’t want to talk to any of these folks.”

“I’ll see if there’s a waiting room,” Sam told him, brushing a kiss over Bucky’s cheek and then walking off to find an employee.

“Are you gonna talk?” Clint asked Bucky.

“At the service? I’m thinking about it.”

“Want help? I’m good at talking.”

Bucky nodded and the two of them walked a bit down the hall, Bucky pulling out his Starkphone and showing Clint what he had written so far. Steve leaned against the wall next to Loki and sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

 _You seem to be handling this well,_ Loki said slowly. Steve rubbed his hand over his forehead.

 _I’ve gotten used to loss,_ Steve replied. _People always say it never gets easier but after a point, I feel like it does._

Loki nodded. _Or perhaps you are just more capable of dealing with it._

Steve paused for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. _How do you deal with death?_

_We honor the dead with a celebration of life. It is not about who or what is left behind, but what they accomplished in their life. Your tradition of mourning is very foreign to me. But I suppose that I can understand it, given the short duration of your lives. Everything must be very sudden to you if it all happens within only a few decades._

Steve nodded slowly and looked around the gathered people, nodding to Sam as he walked by to talk with Bucky and Clint, and then led them down the hall to another room, closing the door behind them. _I’d ask Buck if he wants to do something after this, but I would feel weird asking him if he wants to celebrate his sister dying._

 _It is not celebrating her death,_ Loki clarified. _It is celebrating her life. But, yes, it would be Bucky’s choice._

Steve leaned closer, Loki sliding his arm through Steve’s as the two of them watched various friends and family members filter in and out of the viewing room, sharing stories and anecdotes about Becca’s life. Steve waved when he saw the Avengers and a few SHIELD agents come in, Fury and Coulson bringing up the rear. 

_Do you want to see her body?_ Steve asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. _You know I have no interest in women._

Steve snorted and then clapped a hand over his mouth. He smiled at Loki and tipped his head up to press a kiss to Loki’s smiling lips. _Thank you for being here,_ Steve murmured, pulling back to press their foreheads together, sliding his eyes shut. _I know you didn’t know her and there’s a lot of things you could be doing other than this. So I appreciate it._

Loki nodded. _You need never thank me for standing with you,_ he replied. _I pledged to do no less when we married._

Steve smiled and moved forward, pulling his face away from Loki’s but sliding an arm around Loki’s waist. _Do you remember my command?_

_Oh, my Captain, but which one? You give me so many, after all._

_Only because you like them,_ Steve murmured. _The one about not touching yourself._

 _Ah._ Loki smiled slowly, eyes darkening. _As always, I have obeyed your orders and have not masturbated. It has been so difficult, and my body aches—_

“This is a funeral,” Clint interjected, the two of them pulling apart with a jump. Steve cleared his throat and Loki gave him a low, sultry look. _Does death make you horny? How on earth could either of you get horny at a funeral?_

 _Adrenaline?_ Steve offered up. _Maybe?_

Clint shook his head and then glanced down the hall to the closed door. _Ceremony should start in about a half hour. Do I need to dunk either of you in cold water?_

Loki smiled at him, walking forward to slide a hand over the back of Clint’s neck. Clint leaned into his side and looked up at his god. _How fares Bucky?_

 _Think he’ll be alright,_ Clint told him. _He was telling us about pranks Becca used to pull on him when they were kids. I think it’s good that he got to see her and realize she lived a whole life while HYDRA had him. That’s all he cares about. So I think he’ll be fine._

_Good._

Steve smiled at both of them and stepped forward to slide an arm around Loki’s waist. _Let’s go in,_ he decided, and led the two of them through the mass of people and into the chapel. The various Avengers—Kate, Natasha, Valkyrie, Peter, Scott, Hope, Bruce, Wanda, Vision, Tony—caught sight of them and followed them in, filling up the pew behind them. Wanda, Peter, and Scott all hugged Steve and gave him their condolences.

“How’s Barnes?” Wanda asked, sitting next to Vision on the pew.

“As well as can be expected,” Loki replied primly, clasping his hands in his lap and crossing his legs as he sat. He watched as Kate pulled Clint aside to talk to him, and then his attention was caught as T’Challa, Shuri, Ramonda, and Okoye following behind, entered the chapel. Steve got up and went to talk to them, shaking hands with T’Challa. Loki turned to look at Valkyrie. “Have you been to a Midgardian funeral before, Valkyrie?”

She shook her head. “Natasha explained the cultural differences to me. Very unsettling.” Valkyrie looked around the chapel. “I did not see Sif.”

Loki smirked. “Did you come in through the front entrance? She is standing guard.”

“That’s who that was?” Scott asked. “I thought she was part of the funeral home.”

Hope elbowed him in the side.

One of the side doors opened and a few funeral employees came in, pushing a closed casket. They paused at seeing people already in the chapel but continued a moment later, putting the casket into place and setting up flowers and cards around it. Then another employee came in and opened the casket and made sure the body was positioned properly.

Peter shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t like funerals,” he muttered, and Wanda frowned sympathetically and took his hand.

The doors at the back of the chapel opened and Sif stepped inside, escorting Sam and Bucky, who walked up to the front of the chapel, joining up with Steve and the Wakandans. Sif inclined her head to Loki and Clint as she passed them. She was dressed in full formal regalia, outfitted in gold armor and wearing blue and red, Steve’s colors, underneath that. Her armor had been polished to a high sheen and her hair was tied back with a small red band. She carried her spear in her right hand and held herself with pride in her station.

 _I’m glad to see Sif has taken so well to her duties,_ Loki noted to Clint, who nodded. _She and Steve seem fond of one another._

 _As they should,_ Clint replied. _It’d be hard to follow someone around all the time if you hate them._

They sat in contemplative silence for a few minutes before Steve tugged at both of their minds and they simultaneously got up to go to his side. Loki inclined his head to the Wakandans as he slid his arm into Steve’s.

“Death is a very somber occasion on Midgard,” Loki said to T’Challa and Shuri, watching with narrowed eyes as Ramonda pulled Clint off to the side. “But seeing you has brightened our day.”

“Is that an insult on Asgard?” Shuri asked, a bit of a smile on her face. Loki raised his eyebrows at her. “It just sounded like you actually meant it.”

T’Challa snorted and then rubbed the smile off his face. “This is a somber occasion, sister,” he said to Shuri, who looked like she was stopping herself from rolling her eyes. “How have you fared, Loki?”

Loki shrugged one shoulder. “I never met her,” he replied, motioning casually to the casket behind him. “Bucky is very upset, of course, but at least he was able to meet her before her death.” He looked over at Steve. “Steve?”

Steve sighed. “Becca was one of a kind,” he replied. “She loved the hell out of Bucky and their other sisters. The world was brighter with her in it.”

T’Challa and Shuri both nodded. “We have funeral rites to say over the grave, if Bucky would be amenable,” T’Challa offered up.

Steve disengaged his arm from Loki and replied, “I’ll go ask him.” He squeezed Loki’s waist and then walked back to talk with Bucky and Sam, who were crowded up near the casket, Sif standing next to them. Sif inclined her head to Steve and then went back to scanning the crowd as people slowly filtered into the chapel. Loki looked back to T’Challa and Shuri.

“Is death so somber an occasion in Wakanda?” Loki queried. “I ask only because this type of mourning is very foreign to me. I have only been to one Midgardian funeral before this.” At that, Steve shot him a strange look but didn’t say anything.

The siblings exchanged glances and then T’Challa described, “Our ancestors live in an alternate plane of existence. Their souls inhabit the ancestral plane or the City of the Dead, Necropolis. The location is only dependent on their station in life; it is not similar to the notion of Heaven or Hell. I visited the ancestral plane when I became King.”

“So only the souls of your people continue on?”

Shuri nodded. “The bodies are burned and the ashes spread. The body is considered a vessel for the soul and disposed of once the soul has left. Respectfully, of course.”

Loki nodded. “Interesting,” he mused. “Are your funeral rites somber?”

“Not as depressing as these,” Shuri told him, “but it is no celebration.”

“Asgard is very different from any culture on Midgard, it seems,” Loki replied, leading T’Challa and Shuri to the pew in front of the Avengers. “I have never heard of anyone mourning someone’s death until I came here.”

T’Challa frowned at him. “Is that so?”

“Aesir use any excuse for celebration,” Loki pointed out, crossing one leg over the other as he sat. “Even death.”

Shuri leaned over T’Challa to ask, “Do you know why our mother is so taken with your archer?”

Loki shook his head and pursed his lips. “I was going to ask you the same.”

Shuri sighed and sat up again. “Brother?”

“If I knew, I would say,” T’Challa said simply. “She merely seems to like him. I believe he may remind her of our father.”

Loki frowned. Shuri reached over and patted his hand.

A glittering orange portal opened next to the pews and Stephen stepped out, dressed in a formal black suit with a dark purple tie. Loki raised an eyebrow at him. Stephen glanced around and walked over to Steve, Bucky, and Sam to offer his condolences, and then joined Clint with Ramonda. Clint smiled up at him and Stephen slid his hand across Clint’s lower back as he introduced himself.

Someone poked Loki in the back. He jumped a bit and then spun around to glare at Valkyrie, and then caught the eye of the other curious Avengers. “Isn’t he married?” Valkyrie hissed. “You’re letting him cheat on his wife?”

“I believe it was his wife’s idea,” Loki hissed back, “and I believe you have even less recourse than I to involve yourself in Clint’s relationships.”

“Hold on, Loki letting him?” Natasha asked. “What does Loki have to do—”

Loki rolled his eyes and turned back to the front, listening idly to the quiet conversation behind him as Valkyrie attempted to give a very condensed version of Loki’s role in Clint’s life to the surrounding Avengers. Going by the various questions and confused noises, she was unsuccessful. 

Clint excused himself from Ramonda a minute later and made his way back to the pew, sliding in next to Loki, sighing as he leaned heavily against Loki’s side. Stephen sat next to him, nodding to T’Challa and Shuri, as well as Okoye, who stood at the end of the pew, keeping guard. The chapel began to fill up and the funeral official who was in charge of the celebration of life ceremony came out to talk to Bucky and Sam and Steve.

 _Can I have a cup of coffee?_ Clint asked, covering a yawn. Loki conjured one up and handed it to him. _Can’t wait until this is all over. Fuckin’ exhausted._

 _I could conjure up two facsimiles of ourselves and we could return home,_ Loki offered up. Steve, Sam, and Bucky, along with Becca’s children and their significant others, sat down on the first row of pews as the funeral officiant began to speak. Clint snorted as he took a long drink from his coffee. They all shuffled down on the bench so Okoye could sit next to Shuri.

_Why don’t you tell Cap you want to do that and see what he says._

_Certainly I could convince him that our going home would be better than the small seidr bombs I set around the chapel going off._

_Even you wouldn’t set off seidr bombs at a funeral,_ Clint argued. _You didn’t do it at Peggy’s funeral, you definitely wouldn’t do it here._

 _You’re supposed to be listening,_ Steve interjected into both of their minds. _Not trying to figure out which one of you should be punished first._

 _Oh, it is surely me,_ Lok replied back heatedly. _We can leave Clint’s punishment to Stephen._

Steve turned in his seat and glared back at him. _Like you’d let anyone else touch him._

_Perhaps if I was sufficiently satisfied by my Captain, I could be persuaded…_

_Weren’t we supposed to be listening?_ Clint asked tiredly, finishing off the coffee and disappearing the cup. He leaned his cheek against Loki’s shoulder and covered a yawn. Steve rolled his eyes at them and turned back to the front.

A few minutes later, Bucky stood up and walked slowly to the front of the chapel, shaking the officiant’s hand and then taking his place at the microphone. He slid his hand into his pocket and squeezed the stone he kept there, his black seidr arm immediately materializing, causing various murmurs to echo around the chapel. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it up, taking a deep breath before he began to speak.

Loki watched as Stephen carefully reached over one hand and took one of Clint’s, intertwining their fingers. Clint held on tight even as he tried to keep himself from falling asleep.

 _We’re going to have to talk about this,_ Loki murmured. Clint yawned and nodded.

“I was never supposed to live this long,” Bucky began, swallowing past the tremble in his voice. “I died when I was 28, in 1945, when I fell from that train. I know that Becca mourned me. I know our other sisters mourned me. I wouldn’t have known that any of them were even still alive if not for a friend of mine.” He swallowed thickly and took in a deep breath. “Becca was my best friend when we were younger. I don’t have any shame anymore in saying she was my favorite. I don’t...I don’t know everything she accomplished while she was alive. I never even met her husband and didn’t meet her kids until after she died. But I loved her.” He broke off for a moment and looked around the chapel, looking at all the strangers and the few people he knew. He met Loki’s gaze and then looked down at Sam and Steve.

“All I can say is that I loved her,” Bucky whispered. “I’m glad I got to see her one last time before she died. I’m glad she’s at peace now.” He nodded to himself and stepped back from the microphone, looking down at Sam and then back at Loki. Loki frowned and Bucky ducked his chin as he sat back down, hair falling over his face.

Jamie spoke next, and then Helen, and then Becca’s best friend, and Steve spoke last. He talked about honor and duty and family and everyone clapped after he was finished speaking.

After that, everyone piled into cars and followed the hearse to the cemetery. Loki used Clint’s exhaustion as a way to get out of the burial, and he said quiet goodbyes to Bucky and Sam before walking back through the worlds to Clint’s home. He carefully laid Clint down in his bed and quickly disrobed him, sliding him under the furs and covering him with seidr. He gently set Clint’s hearing aids on the nightstand after making sure Clint was asleep.

“Are you not meant to be at the funeral?” Loki asked, not turning around. 

“I told them I have duties I needed to return to,” Stephen replied, stepping out of a portal and up next to the bed. The two of them looked down at Clint. “Is his soul healed?”

Loki ignored him and moved around the bed to strip out of his suit. Stephen’s eyes went wide and he turned away. Loki pulled on a Vanaheim silk robe and a pair of purple leggings and then turned to look at Stephen. He looked at the sorcerer for a long moment and then opened a pocket dimension.

He pulled out half of an apple and held it up. It was massive and gold, half the size of his fist.

“This is an apple from Idunn’s orchard,” Loki told him, light catching the apple’s flesh. “She gave three of them to me as a wedding present. Steve has one, I have one, and I gave Clint the other half of this one.”

“What are you saying?” Stephen asked guardedly, crossing his long arms over his chest.

“I intend to cut this into thirds,” Loki continued. “One for Bucky, one for Sam. It will extend their lives beyond normal human means. Perhaps another thousand years or so. That seems to be longer than any human wishes to be alive, and it will give Steve time with his closest friends. I considered giving the last third to Natasha, so that she could be with the Valkyrie for longer, but Clint does not believe she will take it.”

“Are you asking me my intentions?”

“I am asking nothing,” Loki replied simply. “I have information you need to know before I ask.” He tossed the apple into the air and caught it, then placed it back into his pocket dimension. He motioned for Stephen to follow him into the living room. Loki perched on the armchair and Stephen took the couch as Loki conjured up a tea set. He poured them each a cup and then sipped as his, looking at Stephen over the rim.

 _Do you have any objection to me telling Stephen about our last life together?_ he asked Steve.

Steve sighed into his mind. _Just don’t fuck him._

 _No,_ Loki agreed. _I suppose I will leave that to Clint._

“I believe you already know some of what I am going to tell you,” Loki began, “but you do not have the full story.” Stephen looked at him. Loki set his teacup onto the air in front of him and looked back. “Thor took me through thousands of repetitions. I suppose we could consider them time loops, which I am well aware you are familiar with. What is of import, now, however, is the very last life, in which Thor took me to the Sanctum Santorum. Either through his own merits or from the spells he used warping his soul, Thor became...unconscionably and unreasonably cruel. However, he did allow me one pleasure in a life marred by his own rage: you.”

Stephen frowned at him. “You and I were...together?”

Loki smiled. “Oh, yes.”

“I had suspicions of something similar,” Stephen sighed. “Steve is not as subtle as he likes to think.”

“Oh, I am well aware. But I allow him his confidence. He needs so much of it, after all, to perform his duties. But something happened in that last life, something you need to be aware of.”

“And?” Stephen asked when Loki trailed off.

“We were soul bound,” Loki replied after a pause. “My soul reached out for anyone, any _thing_ to get out from underneath Thor. You were the closest. Soulbonds do not follow people through timelines or dimensions, which is one of the reasons why Clint remembers having so many different partners in his different lives. However, that only holds true when it is not the same being brought through dimensions.”

“You’re saying that we’re soul bonded.” It wasn’t a question.

“We were,” Loki corrected. “I...remedied the situation.”

Stephen frowned at him and then his attention was drawn away from Loki to Clint, who was awake and leaning tiredly against the doorframe. Stephen put his teacup down on the table and got up to help Clint to the couch, who wrapped himself up in a blanket and then curled up with his head in Stephen’s lap. Stephen blinked down at him and then his eyebrows drew together as he looked back at Loki. “What did you do?”

“Steve was becoming upset that I was still attracted to you, as you are still attracted to me, even though I had no intention of acting upon it. He can be such an...angry creature, after all.” Loki took a sip of his tea. “When my brother deafened Clint, he was horribly depressed. I found that I could simply remove it. I experimented a bit with it, changing emotions, even causing him to forget things. It was all very informative.” Clint muttered in his sleep and turned his face into Stephen’s stomach. Stephen pet his hair without really realizing it. “Then he obtained the Soul Stone. It gave me an idea.”

“You soul bonded us,” Stephen said slowly. Then he frowned and shook his head. “Hold on, I’m not attracted to you.”

“I saw heat in your groin when I took upon my Jotun appearance in the Sanctum,” Loki reminded him.

Stephen shook his head and glanced down at Clint, shifting uncomfortably. “It wasn’t because of _you,_ ” he muttered.

Loki laughed at him and then continued, “Technically I only bound Clint to you. Your feelings towards him are all your own. Although the bond may have...given greater influence to what you feel. Made you act upon them faster.”

Stephen nodded, rubbing a few strands of Clint’s hair in between his fingers. “This is a gross breach of trust,” he started, but then trailed off, pale faced.

“To you, perhaps,” Loki conceded, “but Clint is not his own. He does not have autonomy in the way you understand it. But I only wished to give you context for this, as you would surely find out eventually. Stay ahead of the game, as it were.”

“Laura told me once that it was not her I had to be concerned with regarding my intent towards Clint,” Stephen said slowly, looking down at the sleeping archer.

“It is not,” Loki affirmed, looking amused. “I did not wish for our prior relationship, even if it happened in a prior life, to interfere with my relationship with my husband. While I do enjoy him being possessive over me, on occasion, it can be rather obnoxious and I do not enjoy being interfered with. So I gave Clint a gift.”

“Me.”

Loki inclined his head. “And I offer you one in return, for my slights, imagined or no. Part of an apple from Idunn’s orchard. And I will raise no objection to you taking Clint to bed.”

Stephen sat in silence for a few minutes as he thought. “I feel as if my response should be anger,” he finally sighed out. “I should be angry. Any rational man would be. But even in the short time I have known you, Loki, I know you hold Clint in high regard.”

“The highest,” Loki interrupted pointedly.

Stephen nodded. “I have...flashes of the previous life you mentioned,” he continued. “I only remember small moments. I recall you being struck by lightning, something about a collar, and Thor being a horrific beast.”

Loki’s lips thinned and at the same time, Clint sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

“My brother was a monster,” Loki told him softly, summoning Clint’s hearing aids and setting them on the coffee table. “A great and horrible beast.”

Stephen inclined his head, watching as Clint yawned and leaned forward and poured himself a cup of tea. “Where was he in that world?”

“We did not come together every time,” Loki explained. “Perhaps only a few dozen or hundreds out of the many thousands upon thousands of repetitions. Even if we had, surely our bond would not have been lessened.”

“If I had not gotten in that car wreck, what would you have done?”

Loki frowned at him. “You becoming the Sorcerer Supreme was your destiny. It was inevitable.”

Clint slid his hearing aids in and turned them on, glaring at the tea cup. Loki sighed indulgently and conjured him up a carafe of coffee and a mug. Clint filled the mug to the brim and sipped at it, slumping against Stephen’s side with a pleased sigh. “Almost everything that is meant to happen happened in each repetition,” Clint explained. “Like Steve becoming Captain America, or Tony becoming Iron Man, or me going into the circus, or what have you. Things that are just _meant_ to be. That’s how you becoming the Sorcerer Supreme worked out. It’s destiny.”

Stephen nodded slowly. “I have looked into my future,” he admitted, “and our destiny is to be together.”

“Thank Loki for that,” Clint replied, sipping at his coffee. Stephen shifted and slid an arm over Clint’s shoulders. “Trust me, you’ll _really_ be thanking him when he and Steve have sex and I get all horny and you get to help me out of it.”

Stephen chuckled a bit uncomfortably while Loki replied, “I thought you had managed to block that out completely?”

“Mostly,” Clint agreed. “But when you two really get into it, or if I was distracted in the first place, then it bleeds through. Laura has a sort of sixth sense for it now and will come find me and I’ll just fuck her silly.”

Stephen shifted uncomfortably. Loki smirked at him. “You understand that I know what your penis looks like, yes, Dr. Strange? I have even had it inside me.”

“Was that technically mine?” Stephen replied, rubbing long fingers over his forehead.

Clint tilted his head back and winked at him. “I’ll let you know when I see it.”

“Didn’t answer my question,” Stephen muttered, but tilted Clint’s head up for a kiss anyway.

Loki watched as they melded together, as Stephen kissed Clint the same way he had kissed Loki in that last life, the way their lips and tongues came together, and then he delicately cleared his throat, Clint pulling away with a sheepish chuckle. _I was wondering why I wanted him to fuck me so bad,_ Clint mused, finishing his coffee and then laying back down with his head in Stephen’s lap. _Doc’s not my type at all._

 _Is he not?_ Loki asked amusedly. _I seem to recall our sex life being rather close to what you enjoy in the bedroom._

Clint rubbed his hand over his mouth. _Yeah, I guess I’m a little more into humiliation than you are,_ he acknowledged. _And I can’t wait for him to pin me down and use me, but I’m usually into bigger guys. He’s so damn skinny._

 _And you have your wife to watch and assist,_ Loki supplied, watching in amusement as Clint shifted uncomfortably, clearly aroused. _I cannot imagine you would ever go unfulfilled._

Stephen looked between them with a small frown. “I thought your relationship was platonic,” he told the two of them, voice slow and low.

Clint snorted. “It is. But you can’t be as close to someone as we are without being comfortable joking about each other getting turned on.”

“Quite,” Loki drawled. “I also find it refreshing to turn the tables, so to speak.” He finished off his tea and set the cup on the coffee table as he pushed to his feet. He motioned airily to Clint’s crotch. “I have important things to tend to,” he announced to the two of them, and raised an eyebrow at Stephen. “I assume you will have no trouble assisting him in these matters.”

With a puff of green smoke, Loki was gone.

Clint sat up with a sly smile. “You know,” he told Stephen, “the smoke isn’t even necessary. He just does it for the dramatics.”

They met in the middle, Clint straddling Stephen’s lap, the Cloak of Levitation floating out of the bedroom and resting on his shoulders. Clint smiled against Stephen’s mouth and kissed him, tongues sliding together, hearts beating in sync, their souls slowly coming closer and closer as Stephen slid his fingers into Clint’s pants and Clint rutted against them, gasping into Stephen’s mouth, and as he came, Stephen leaned back and watched, in awe of him.


	8. chapter eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki takes Tony on a trip. Clint continues to recover. They meet a new ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgive me for the awful botched asgardian saying in this chapter, i just made it up

“The device, which we have been calling ARISTOTLE, or Alternate Reality Interface System of the Legends, is undergoing its second phase of development.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I assume Tony came up with that name,” he remarked, and the scientist nodded. “I say that only because it is nonsensical.”

“You know,” Tony’s voice came from a screen behind them, “if you weren’t married to Cap, I’d think you were flirting with me.”

Loki turned around and tilted his head to look up at the monitor. He hadn’t changed out of his silk robe and leggings, and the robe hung open, exposing his chest and stomach. He raised an eyebrow at Tony. “Tony, I have many opinions of you, but attractive is not one of them.”

“Aw, I’m heartbroken.”

“It must be very terrible for you,” Loki replied dryly. “Now, what did you ask me here for?”

“ARISTOTLE works to disrupt the Reality Stone. It detects use of magic and can tell if there’s something overlaid over reality. However, your Asgardian wizards seem to think it won’t work on you,” Tony told him, and the scientist pressed a button, a similar device to the one before coming up out of the table in front of Loki. It was a peculiar thing, a small rectangular metal device with a long arm coming out of the top, with a red camera eye that looked around the room. Loki reached forward and brushed the tips of his fingers over the Asgardian and Nidavellir runes engraved around the edges of the metal rectangle. “ARISTOTLE disrupts magic,” Tony continued. “But you’re kind of made out of seidr. Same with Barton.”

“Yes,” Loki agreed. “I remember your little mechanism forcibly ripping seidr from me the last time I was around it. I also remember threatening to crush it if you did not find a way to counteract it.”

“Yup,” Tony replied. “Harmon, show ‘em.”

The scientist, who was obstensiously named Harmon, picked up a small silver remote from the table and pushed one of the buttons on it. Two small metal arms came out of the table, each holding a peculiar looking bracelet.

“Behold,” Tony said. “PLATO. One of your wizards came up with the acronym after I said what I wanted it to be called. Prudr lettr adr ta-ofna. Now, there’s no Asgardian-English translator online, but your language has some similarities to Old Norse, so I was able to scrounge up that it’s something about pride.”

Loki blinked a few times. “Yes,” he replied. “It does mention pride. Which one of them said this to you?”

“The ugly one.”

“They are all ugly, Tony.”

Tony snorted at him. “Kvistr.”

“That explains it then,” Loki said, reaching out and touching the edges of one of the bracelets. “It is a warning. I am...displeased over this. But show me these PLATO bracelets.” He looked to the scientist, who came forward and picked one of them up, motioning for one of Loki’s hands.

“First, cast some sort of spell. We have to make sure it works against all types of magic.”

Loki lazily waved a hand and a Tony Stark duplicate appeared a few feet away. From the screen, Tony laughed. Loki held out his hand and the scientist clasped the bracelet around his wrist.

There was an uncomfortable pause as nothing happened.

Tony let out a sigh of relief from the monitor. Loki turned to look up at him, eyebrow raised.

“Oh, there was like a 30% chance it would’ve reacted with your magic and exploded,” Tony explained. Loki’s other eyebrow raised. “We managed to get it down from about an 80% chance. Asgardian tech really doesn’t work well with Earth tech. Half the time it seems to explode for no reason.”

“Perhaps it should have exploded so I did not have to listen to you drone on,” Loki replied. He looked at the scientist. “Can we get on with this?”

She smiled at him and picked up the remote, pressing one of the buttons. ARISTOTLE activated, scanning around the room, flickering quickly over Loki and the duplicate, and a small happy jingle sounded when it was finished. “One abnormality found,” a deep mechanical voice intoned.

“Now, take off the bracelet,” Tony asked of him.

Loki held up a hand. “Does it have no more use than to tell you when seidr is being casted?”

“Isn’t the first step awareness?”

“First step of what?”

Tony sighed. “I was trying to make a bad Alcoholics Anonymous joke,” he sighed. “I forgot I had the worst audience anyone could ask for.”

“There is not a word in your language that expresses how bored I am of your constant theatrics,” Loki bit out. He looked at the scientist and said, “Excuse me.”

The bracelet clattered to the table and the duplicate vanished, as did Loki. Harmon looked up to see Loki appear behind Tony on the monitor, and then the screen went black. She shook her head and went back to work.

Tony spun around in his chair and sighed up at Loki.

Loki conjured up a chair and reclined in it, crossing one leg over the other. “I would ask that you do not put my life at risk when I am vital to the quest we are on,” Loki said primly.

Tony sighed again. “We’re all doing our best,” he replied tiredly. “We know what a threat Thanos is. We’re working fucking day and night, Loki, trying to figure out ways to kill him.”

“As am I,” Loki replied.

“I know,” Tony told him. “This isn’t a competition. It’s not a race. It’s a marathon. The finish line is us killing Thanos. But we can’t get there if we don’t work together.”

Loki regarded him, regarded the Tony Stark who sat before him now and thought about how he had changed, how they had all changed. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair and looked around the room they were in. “I do not like you,” Loki finally said. “I never have. But I like you more than I did. I considered you a coward, Tony, but I see now that you are not. You are only doing what you believe is best.”

“Isn’t everyone?”

Loki chuckled. “Oh, certainly not. I can assure you that I rarely do the right thing.”

“Everyone other than you, then. Why are you here, Loki? To tell me you don’t like me? The feeling’s mutual, pal.”

Loki conjured up a chalice of wine and offered it to Tony, who grimaced and waved it away. Loki shrugged and sipped at it. “You know, when I went through your computers, I learned that your government tried to control you and the technology you created. You did not allow them to do that. I believe you refused to give any of your suits to them. Is that right?”

“Yes,” Tony replied slowly.

“Then why were you unopposed to an even larger government telling you what to do? How were the Sokovia Accords any different? I have always been curious.”

“Because I know what’s right,” Tony bit out angrily. “Steve was wrong.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. You even facilitated the agreements that pardoned everyone who did not sign the Accords. How were you any more right than he was? Than I was? When everyone stands against you, Tony, how can you say you were right?”

“Why are you here?” Tony snarled. “You don’t have anything to hold against me. You can’t blackmail me, you can’t _make_ me do anything—”

“I am not here for that,” Loki interrupted. “I go across the galaxies soon to speak with a being called the Watcher. I ask for you to come with. I believe it will be very...informative.”

“Why?”

Loki took a sip of wine. “Oh, you believe I am giving you an option.”

Tony stood up, held out a hand. A bracelet around his wrist whirled to life, white light shining out. Loki gave him a faintly curious look, and the chalice in his hand melted away, revealing the Tesseract. A moment later and all that was left of them was a slip of paper that floated to the floor.

Tony staggered to his knees as the Tesseract deposited them inside the Observatory. Loki inclined his head to Heimdall, who pulled back his cape as Tony staggered to his feet.

“You do seem to enjoy bringing humans through my Observatory,” Heimdall noted, warily watching Tony, pale-faced and furious, turn on Loki. “None of them seem to be in the best of health.”

“Yes,” Loki sighed, moving around the Observatory and placing a hand on Tony’s chest. “They all seem to have so many problems, don’t they?”

“The Watcher currently resides upon Utgard,” Heimdall said, and with a plunge and a turn of Hofund, the Bifrost activated, and they landed on a cold, desolate planet. Tony fell to his knees again and gagged up sour spittle, snarling up at Loki as he did so.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing?”

“Nothing good, I can assure you,” Loki replied with a smile. “Now get up. We have someone we must speak with.” He motioned to the horizon. “Follow me.”

Loki walked through the air on bare feet as Tony stormed after him. No matter what Tony said or did, Loki continued to walk. Utgard was mountainous and rocky and Tony had to scramble over rocks and boulders and he slid down small hills and had to jump over small streams that ran with strange black water.

They’d been walking for a few hours when Tony asked, “What’s stopping me from just stopping and staying here?”

“The air on Utgard is poisonous to humans,” Loki replied, not pausing in his steps. “If you do not believe me, you are welcome to test it.” He shot Tony an amused look.

“What, I’m in some protective ward or something?”

“Or something,” Loki agreed, and they continued to walk. Tony swore as he slipped and skinned his knuckles on a rock and tried to catch himself. They finally made it down the hill and out into a wide field, dotted with boulders of various sizes, but Tony was easily able to avoid them. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as Loki said, “They named the PLATO device after an Asgardian saying that essentially says, _Pride goeth before the fall_. Do you have something similar on your planet?”

“I think we have that exact same saying,” Tony replied cautiously. “What did they mean by it?”

“As if you do not know,” Loki retorted, and then said, “It is a warning. Kvistr believes you are arrogant and prideful and will fail us. I believe you, again, have reached an incorrect conclusion. You tend to believe you are vital to any end we will reach. I wish to show you that you are wrong.”

“This is to knock down my ego or something?”

Loki motioned to a small hut on the other side of the clearing, near a copse of trees, smoke twisting up from the chimney. “Or something,” Loki said again. “We are here.”

“Where the hell is here?”

“To see the Watcher,” Loki informed him, and called out, “I am Loki, and I am of Asgard. I am here.”

“And you are here,” said a strange voice from the doorway of the hut, and Tony looked to see a strange creature, half the height of a person, with a huge, bulbous head on a long, skinny neck, standing with hunched shoulders and thin arms. The Watcher wore a pair of pyjama pants and an open robe, similar to what Loki was wearing. His voice sounded like ten people speaking all at once, and when he opened his mouth, Tony could see huge teeth and a wide, dark tongue. He had bone-white skin and unblinking black eyes that looked out into the dark sky above. “This is not the first time we have met, Loki of Asgard. You are he who is both man and woman, both Loki and Other.” Those huge black eyes blinked slowly and then the Watcher’s head moved slowly to look at Tony, who recoiled the second he looked at him. “I do not know of this you have brought.”

“A human from Midgard,” Loki replied before Tony could say anything. “They are very small creatures, aren’t they?”

The Watcher blinked those huge eyes a few times and then slowly turned to look up at Loki. “We have met before,” he said. “You are of Asgard.”

“Yes,” Loki replied easily. “I am Prince to King Balder.”

“You are here about Thanos.”

“Yes,” Loki agreed. “And also Midgard.”

“Thanos goes to Midgard.”

“Is that all?”

“There are futures,” the Watcher said slowly, blinking again. “I see them.”

“Oh?” Loki queried, sitting up in the air and crossing his legs underneath himself. “What does the Watcher say?”

“There comes a great reckoning,” the Watcher replied, his voice turning into twenty voices layered on top of each other. “There comes a storm. A monster comes in the night.” He paused, as if searching for the words. Then, “He stands alone. He waits.”

Loki frowned but didn’t ask for any more information. He knew better than to expect anything other than cryptic messages from the Watcher.

The Watcher turned his eyes back to the sky and stared out into the unknown, unblinking.

“Why are we here?” Tony finally asked when neither Loki nor the Watcher seemed interested in saying anything. “Just to get some alien to say some—”

“You are the alien,” Loki interrupted pointedly. “Humans are always so self-centered. You are a guest on this planet; ergo, you are the alien.”

“What are you, then?”

“Not an alien,” Loki informed him wryly.

“Why did he say you were a woman?”

“Because I can change form,” Loki said. “And no, I will not do it now. Come, we have more than the Watcher to meet.” Loki pulled out the Tesseract and, glaring, Tony walked up to him and put his finger on the cube. “Be at peace,” Loki said to the Watcher, who did not even seem to notice them any longer, and he activated the Tesseract.

They landed on a planet made of ice and glaciers, with a strange poisoned air that had Tony gagging immediately. Loki put away the Tesseract and conjured up some strange manner of gas mask that he handed over, Tony frantically pulling it on and then taking in great heaping gulps of treated air.

“Where the fuck is this?” Tony gasped out.

“Niflheim,” Loki replied, moving his hands in a strange way that caused an air pocket to appear around his head. He looked around. “This way.”

Tony followed. It was cold, and grew colder the longer they walked, and he eventually started to shiver, rubbing at his arms, and he activated the bracelet around his wrist, his Iron Man suit forming around him. FRIDAY was off-line, somehow, and he had no information stored on any of the planets in the Nine Realms, so he stuck with Loki, who glanced over the suit with a look of boredom and then continued to walk.

“What’s Niflheim?” Tony finally asked. “More Watchers here?”

“No, there is only one Watcher,” Loki replied. “Niflheim is a realm of ice and massive, slow moving glaciers, and a nomadic people. The air is poisonous to those unnative here, as you noticed rather quickly. I suppose it would take only minutes to kill someone of your small stature.”

“We here to talk to some people, then? How are we supposed to find them if they’re nomadic?”

“You are very curious today, Tony,” Loki remarked. “And no, we are not here to see any of the Nifs. We are here to see a giant.”

“A giant?” Tony repeated incredulously, but Loki refused to say any more.

They ended up setting up camp for the night, Loki conjuring up a small hut that housed two beds and a fire in between them. Tony stepped out of his suit and it folded back down into his bracelet, and he wrapped himself in the blankets Loki had set on the bed. Loki opened a pocket dimension and pulled out a few bits of food out, warming them next to the fire before handing them to Tony. Then he conjured up a chalice of wine for himself and a glass of water for Tony. Tony sipped at his water while Loki sat on his bed, using seidr to turn his clothes into comfortable leggings and socks and a black hoodie. 

“You know that Pepper is going to be worried about me,” Tony finally said once he’d finished eating. “Probably call the cops on you or something.”

“I left a note,” Loki replied absently, pulling some of his hair forward to braid it.

“Won’t Steve be pissed at you for kidnapping me?”

“Perhaps,” Loki allowed, and green eyes flashed at him. “Whoever says he must know?”

“Can’t you two read each other’s minds now? I was at your wedding, I heard what everyone said about the bonds you two did.”

“Did you now?”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “Emotion sharing, telepathy, the whole nine yards. So what’s to say Steve doesn’t already know?”

“What’s to say Steve would even care?”

That set Tony back on his heels. He frowned, scratched at his goatee. “Why don’t you ask him?” he replied finally. “If you don’t think he’d care, why not tell him?”

“Do you tell Pepper everything you do? If you stub your toe, do you call her? If you fail an experiment, do you summon her out of your bed?”

Tony frowned at him.

“No, then. Then it must stand to reason that I do not have to inform my own husband of everything I do.”

They sat in silence for a while longer before Loki, apparently done for the night, wrapped himself in blankets and curled up in his bed. He was asleep a few minutes later, and Tony took the chance to poke his head out of the hut and immediately choke on the poisoned air. Right. He put on his Iron Man suit again and decided to take a short walk, setting a beacon back on the hut so he wouldn’t get lost.

The thermometer on his suit said it was averaging -10 degrees Fahrenheit, and the air was almost completely devoid of oxygen, as well as containing chemicals completely unfamiliar to Earth. He tried to take a sample of the air but it seemed to damage a vacuum sealed container once it was pressurized, so he just took readings and scanned and hoped that was enough.

Niflheim sucked. No animals, no plants, no inhabitants, just ice and poison mist. Tony considered trying to fly but didn’t want to put his power source at risk, and made his way back to the cabin, where Loki was still sleeping. He put his suit back into his bracelet and sat in front of the fire in the middle of the hut for a long time, until he passed out.

* * *

Bucky sat at the kitchen table while Sam cooked them breakfast, watching Steve fiddle with the coffee maker. It’d been two days since he’d buried his sister and he still...he didn’t know what to do. Steve got a few mugs out of the cabinet and filled them up, bringing them over to the table. He sat down and just a few seconds later, Clint came out of Loki’s rooms, yawning and pulling on a t-shirt. He sat down next to Steve and Steve handed him a mug of coffee, leaned over and tipped their heads together. 

Bucky sighed to himself. He and Sam still hadn’t talked about how Bucky had basically run away from Asgard. There was no way that Sam believed that Bucky had just gone off with Loki without waking him up or anything; they’d spent too much time working on their relationship and Bucky’s mental health for Bucky to just run off. It was even harder for Bucky to rationalize it now that he was off of the mind soothing potions. He knew Sam loved him, knew Sam would give up everything and anything for him. He just didn’t want Sam to ever have to make that choice.

Sam set a plate down in front of him and brushed a kiss over the top of Bucky’s head, brushing a hand over the back of Bucky’s neck. Bucky smiled up at him and reached down to squeeze the emerald in his pocket, his seidr arm expanding out of his shoulder. Sam sat next to him and Bucky reached over with his left hand, taking Sam’s hand in his own. 

He started eating, looking up only when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Bucky looked over his shoulder to see Stephen Strange and Laura walk out of Loki’s rooms, both of them looking rather mussed. Bucky and Sam exchanged wide-eyed looks and then they both looked across the table to watch as Strange sat on Clint’s other side and stole his coffee while Laura got a couple plates of food and brought them to the table to share. Steve and Clint ate off the same plate while Laura and Strange shared.

“Are you three…” Sam finally asked, trailing off and looking pointedly between them. Clint didn’t answer, but Strange and Laura nodded. “Huh.”

“21st century is weird,” Bucky finally muttered out, earning a snort from Steve and Laura and Strange sharing a roll of the eyes. “You better not try to skip over to our bed after this, Strange.”

Strange choked on his coffee and wiped his mouth off. “I have no intentions of that, Mr. Barnes,” he replied stiffly. 

“It was a joke, man,” Sam told him, leaning across the table to steal a piece of toast off Clint and Steve’s plate. Clint tiredly slapped at him but didn’t stop him. “Lighten up.”

Bucky stole the piece of toast out of Sam’s hand and ate it. “How’s he holding up?” he asked Steve, motioning vaguely at Clint, who was diligently staring at his coffee.

“He’s alright,” Steve sighed. “Rest has been good for him. Loki thinks his soul is still sick, but it’s healing up. I could go in and see it, but I always feel kind of weird doing that.”

“Yeah?”

Before anyone else could say anything, Sif came downstairs with the kids. She was carrying Nate in one hand and had both Cooper and Lila hanging off the other arm. Sif raised both her eyebrows at the solemn looks on all of their faces and took the kids into the living room to toss them onto the couch. Laura got up and took Nate from her and the two of them talked quietly while Lila and Cooper made menaces of themselves.

Steve looked back at Bucky and Sam and Stephen, then down at Clint. Clint sighed and leaned against Steve’s side, closing his eyes. “He’ll be fine,” Steve said finally. “He doesn’t have a choice.”

Stephen nodded and reached over, stroked a hand down Clint’s arm. “I will look through the Sanctum on any information on soul magic,” he finally decided. “As well as our library at Kamar-Taj.” He looked between Sam and Bucky. “I’ll leave you to it.” He hesitated and then stood up and floated his dishes over to the sink, then went back to Loki’s rooms. 

“Weird guy,” Sam muttered under his breath. Bucky snorted in agreement. “You doing anything today, Cap?”

“Back to the Avengers Facility,” Steve decided. “I was helping Natasha and Brunnhilde with going through Power Enterprise’s assets, and Tony and I were working with S.I. and SHIELD scientists on the ARISTOTLE device. Clint might come with me, see how it affects him. You two?”

“Think we need to have a talk,” Sam replied, piling everyone’s dishes up into a small stack. “Me and my boy here need to figure some stuff out.”

“You want me to stay another day?” Steve asked. Sam and Bucky looked at each other and then they both shook their heads. “Alright. Just let me know if you two need anything.” He nudged Clint in the side and the archer straightened up and rubbed at his eyes, letting out a yawn. Steve got up and helped Sam clean up the kitchen while Bucky went upstairs to angst in his room. Clint looked blearily around the kitchen and looked over his shoulder to see Sif and Laura talking in the living room, his kids making absolute menaces of themselves, and decided he was going back to bed.

He got up and moved slowly back to Loki’s rooms, giving Stephen a small uncomfortable wave as he passed by him getting dressed, and crawled back under the covers, sliding his head under one of the pillows. His chest ached. He could feel the sickness in his soul, could feel how it wanted to spread to the rest of his body, how it wanted to infect him and pull him under. Loki had done good work on it, had helped him, had stopped it from getting worse, and it was healing, Clint could tell. But it _hurt._

Someone patted one of his legs and Clint lifted the pillow off his head to peer blearily out at Stephen, who shakingly held out a small piece of paper that read, _Do you need anything?_

 _Loki,_ he wanted to say. _Bring my god back to me. He promised I wouldn’t be alone and I’m alone and I don’t want to be alone—_

But Clint just shook his head. He lifted a hand and tiredly shook his fist from side to side. Stephen nodded and wrote down, _I’m going to start learning ASL._

 _Good for you,_ Clint wanted to say. _You want a fucking reward? You want—_

 _You are projecting awfully loudly,_ Loki interrupted. _Do you need something?_

“Thanks,” Clint rasped out, hoping he wasn’t too loud, and closed his eyes again. Stephen gingerly ran his fingers over Clint’s cheek and then stepped away from the bed after gently setting the pillow back over Clint’s head. _My chest hurts._

_Yes, that is to be expected. Your soul resides in your chest, after all. Does your doctor not help you? Steve is there also; his presence should soothe you. If you need me, I will come._

_No,_ Clint sighed. _Stay harassing Tony or whatever it is you’re doing. Do you even have a plan?_

 _My plan was mostly to antagonize him,_ Loki mused. _I merely believed it would be funny to drag him from planet to planet._

_Is he surprising you?_

_He is surprising me in that it is remarkably unfunny to bring along someone who seems insistent on complaining every second of the day._

_So it’s like travelling with yourself?_

Loki scowled at him. Clint smiled to himself. _You would not be comparing Tony and I if you were well,_ Loki finally grumped out. _You would know better._

 _I never know better,_ Clint murmured, settling deeper into the mattress and wrapping the furs and blankets tighter around himself. _I don’t think I’ve ever been to Niflheim. You made it to Ymir yet?_

_No. We have one more day’s travel. Tony seems rather frustrated by the entire venture. I believe I will take him to the scientists of Niflheim. I believe they will have some technology he may find useful. We will have to call an Idavollr soon, as Thanos comes ever closer to Midgard. Steve should begin his formal training with the Einherjar soon._

Loki continued to speak and Clint smiled to himself, settling into sleep as the ache in his head and the ache in his chest both eased enough to let him sleep again.

A few minutes later, Steve poked his head into the bedroom and saw Clint in bed, a spectral hand tangled with one of his on top of one of the pillows. Steve ducked into the bathroom to shower and shave and then got ready for the day, briefly joining Clint in bed to activate the Power Stone and push a bit of power into him. Clint sighed and rolled over to push his face into Steve’s stomach.

 _You’ll be alright,_ Steve swore to him even though Clint wasn’t awake. _I promise. No matter what._

* * *

They’d walked for two days and one night before they reached Ymir. The corpse lay frozen to the tundra beneath it, nearly fifty feet long and almost twenty wide. It was ancient, an unknowable number of years old, covered in ice and the slow-growing moss of Niflheim, as well as peculiar white flowers that only grew in one place in the entire Nine Realms. Loki conjured up a hut for them near the river that ran underneath Ymir, and then both he and Tony disrobed to their underwear to bathe in the hot spring. Tony shifted uncomfortably at being vulnerable anywhere near Loki, but Loki steadfastly ignored him as he conjured up soap crystals and cleansed himself.

Loki got out of the hot spring first, conjuring up clothes and quickly dressing himself, moving back to the hut after he was ready. He made dinner for them and then lounged out on the ice while Tony ran into the warmth of the cabin, shivering as he did. Loki stared up at the swirling mist above and wondered about stars on Niflheim, if the occupants of the Realm knew what they were missing. Did the mist ever dissipate for long enough for the sky to be visible? Perhaps on windy days? He hoped they would not have to be on realm long enough to find out.

“What are we doing here?” Tony finally called out. He’d asked the question a dozen times over the past couple days but Loki had never deigned to answer.

Loki sighed and sat up, wiping bits of ice off his arms and clothes. “Do you see the flowers?” he asked. “They are called _simbelmyne_. They grow only here, on the corpse of the great giant Ymir. We must collect them.”

Tony blinked a few times. “Alright,” he said slowly. “How many? What are they for?”

“Perhaps fifty each,” Loki informed him, joining Tony back in the hut. “They must all be gathered at different times of the day and night. They have various healing properties and I use them in potion-making.”

“Didn’t realize I was your errand boy,” Tony muttered, picking up a bowl of food that Loki had conjured up. “Why isn’t Barton doing this?”

“He is injured,” Loki replied tightly. “And I do not believe it is any of your business.”

“You kidnapped me out of my house and dragged me off into the galaxy,” Tony snipped out, looking pissed. “Why I’m here is definitely my fucking business.”

“Is that so?”

“You’re lucky I haven’t killed you in your sleep,” Tony grumbled. Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “In fact, I think you’re lucky you haven’t been killed in your sleep before this.”

Loki ignored that and finished eating, then he began crafting two baskets out of seidr, weaving long tendrils into form and shape. Tony stopped eating to watch him, mind whirling.

“Is there any way to harness that power of yours?” Tony finally asked. Loki blinked at him. “Or create it?”

“Perhaps,” Loki finally said. “Seidr is internal, but your Midgard witches have learned how to pull it from other dimensions. There is also latent, unused seidr all over Midgard that you could theoretically use for whatever nefarious purpose you are considering.”

“There is? Where?”

“Ley lines,” Loki replied. “Essentially rivers of seidr that surround the realm.” He raised a hand and with it, a long tendril of green seidr. “This is a physical representation of the seidr that resides within me. I can shape it and change it however I wish. For instance,” and then he fluttered his fingers and the seidr in his hand turned into flowers, and then into shimmering glitter, and then Loki gathered it all back up again and funneled the seidr back into the basket.

“Huh,” Tony muttered. “Thor hit me once with a lightning blast that charged my suit up to 400%. Maybe we could figure something out with that magic of yours.”

“Seidr is the correct term.”

Tony mocked him under his breath and then dodged the bit of seidr Loki flicked at him. “Do you think you could push seidr into my suit?”

“Theoretically,” Loki told him. “For what reason?”

“I’ll think of something,” Tony said, and finished eating as his mind ran away with him.

Later, after Loki finished the baskets, they ventured out into the dark and began picking simbelmyne. The flowers were huge, each the size of a man’s head, with petals the size of one of their hands, and they had to use small, specially made knives to cut the stems. They gathered up ten flowers each, then they went back into the hut to wait for the moons to come out, and then repeated the process.

They spent the rest of the night and the entirety of the next day gathering up the massive flowers, and then Loki crawled over the corpse of the giant and chipped off a bit of the frozen skin and some of the giant’s hair. Loki considered cutting into Ymir’s stomach to take some of his frozen organs, but ultimately decided against it. He could always come back, after all.

They began to walk again, this time towards one of the few permanent settlements in Niflheim. It was a small village of predominantly scientists and seidrmadrs, as well as a faction of warriors that kept the city safe from wandering savages. It was between two glacier paths that kept it generally safe from Niflheim’s other natural threats. 

They were walking along the edge of one of the glaciers above the village when Loki peered through the mist and pointed out a small patch of dark green in the distance. They stopped to look at it. Tony engaged stealth mode on his suit and flew up above to watch the native Nif inhabitants set up camp around the grass, some of them immediately getting to work tilling the land and planting small, unfamiliar bulbs and seeds. Tony hovered in the air for a while as he watched them, and then one of the Nif saw him and began firing projectiles at him, and he quickly flew off to land next to Loki, who had continued walking.

Tony began firing off questions and Loki absently answered them as he looked for a way down from the top of the glacier. “We call them the Nifs, though I suppose they have a name for themselves. I believe they have a King, although I have never met him. Balder has, of course. Yes, they are rather strange looking, aren’t they? Rather ugly creatures, if I may say so myself. No, the mist is not poisonous to them—is the air on Midgard poisonous to humans? They live primarily off the land and what they can grow from it, and I believe also they fish from the small lakes we have passed.”

“I haven’t seen any lakes.”

“That is because you are not very observant.”

Tony grumbled to himself as Loki shook his head and pulled off his gloves, flexing his fingers. He glanced over his shoulder at Tony and then tugged at the seidr cloaking his Jotnar skin, and then as his blue skin appeared, he dug deep and found the cold spot at the center of his seidr, the spot he had ignored for so long, and began to shape the glacier in front of them into stairs.

“You meant to tell me you could’ve done that this entire time?”

Loki grit his teeth and ignored him. This seidr was more difficult to use, and it felt unnatural, and he felt awfully exposed and ashamed to be using it in front of one such as Tony Stark. But there was no other option. Perhaps he could merely remove the man’s memory of the incident once they were done. He tired quickly but forced himself to finish the long flight of stairs down to the bottom of the glacier, hiding his shaking hands by tucking them back into his gloves. They walked across the ice and hard-packed snow to a black gate in a tall wall made of dark blue ice.

Loki raised a hand and held it against the gate. “We call for entrance!”

“Who is we?” called back another voice. Tony frowned, unable to understand it.

“I am Loki, and I am of Asgard, and this is my compatriot, Tony Stark of Midgard.”

“Midgard?!” the voice squawked. “Gross!”

Loki laughed. “Yes, I agree. But they tell me he is very intelligent, and I wish for him to speak with your scientists.”

The gate moved open slightly and a Nif poked their head around, blinking at them with huge black eyes in dark blue fur. “You are Loki,” they said, their second lid coming down over their eyes as they looked up at him. They looked past Loki to Tony, who had stepped out of the Iron Man suit and was trying not to shiver behind Loki. The Nif grimaced. “Don’t let him—you did say it was a him?”

“Aye,” Loki affirmed.

The Nif harrumphed. “Don’t let him touch anything. Nasty Midgardians.” They shook their head and waved the two of them inside.

The gate slammed shut behind them and the Nif escorted them down the icy, winding path from the gate to the small village. All of the buildings were made out of that same dark blue ice, and when Tony ran his fingers across them, they weren’t as cold as he was expecting. Niflheim architecture was modest and practical, with no engravings or embellishments as far as Tony could see. Every building was one story high, barely tall enough for either of them, as it seemed that Nifs had evolved to be as efficient as possible, as none of them were over four feet tall.

Tony was doing his best to hold it together but it was really only the second or so time he’d ever seen proper aliens: Nif were short with blue fur all over, huge black eyes over a snout and a mouth with long, blunt teeth. They wore practical, heavy clothes that rarely varied from brown or white in color, and their feet were bare, with heavy, leather-like pads on the bottom that protected them from the ice. When they left the village, they wore heavy, functional boots, but there was no need for them inside.

The Nif escorted them to a small building with strange runes engraved above the door. Tony tapped on his bracelet and an Iron Man gauntlet covered his hand and he scanned the runes before going inside. There were more Nif inside, and as they all excitedly introduced themselves to Loki, Tony noticed more and more differences between the various aliens: slightly different eye shapes, the hue of their hair, same as with people. Humans. Whatever.

Loki took the offered _drykkr_ and sniffed at it, giving the closest Nif, Aboe, an approving nod before taking a sip. He hid his disgusted wince and took another sip before handing the steaming cup to Tony, who grimaced and then looked confusedly around before taking a drink of his own and barely restraining himself from spitting it out. 

“What is that?” Tony spat out.

Loki smiled overly pleasantly. “They call it drykkr. It is their version of beer.”

Tony handed the cup back with a grimace and Loki finished it off. Then he handed the cup back and Aboe led him down the short hall past the welcoming room to the laboratory, Tony tagging behind. They went through a thin screen and into a lab that looked like it would be entirely suitable for one such as Tony Stark, who looked around both approvingly and impressed. 

Loki waved a temporary translation spell over Tony and found a seat, sitting back and finally letting himself rest, watching with faint amusement as Tony and the various Nif scientists all excitedly talked. A while later, a few seirdmadrs came in, joining in on the conversation. They all tried to pull Loki into whatever nonsense they were talking about, but he waved them all off. He had no interest in whatever Tony was thinking, and even less interest in Tony’s suits and how he could integrate Nif technology and seidr into all of it. Even more importantly, he needed to recover his seidr. It felt like a shivering babe in his chest. 

One of the Nif was excitedly explaining Niflheim’s social and gender structure to Tony, who was looking more and more horrified, when there was a faint _boom_ in the distance. Loki sat up straight, frowning as he looked around, and the Nif stopped their excited chatter to send alerts to the guards. A soldier burst into the lab, dressed in sturdier clothes, a long, curved knife in their hand, and called for an alert. Tony pulled on his Iron Man suit and readied himself for whatever was coming.

Then, very suddenly, two things happened: a woman dressed in a blue and red suit, a six-pointed star on her chest, appeared with a burst of unbelievable power, and there was a flash of green light as Clint appeared in front of Loki, arrow already aimed at the stranger, dressed in torn blue jeans and one of Steve’s sweatshirts.

She turned to look at Loki, eyes ablaze behind her mask, hair standing on end, and she bared her teeth. Clint drew back the arrow, but Loki stepped up behind him, putting a gentle hand on Clint’s arm to stop him.

“Are you here for me?”

She snarled out Loki’s name in a furious roar. “Where are they?” she demanded. Loki frowned. “Did you kill them?” She took a step forward.

“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Clint warned lowly. Tony held up a hand, a repulsor whirring up to prepare a blast. “Trust me, lady, it’s a bad idea.”

She glared at him and dismissively shot a photon blast at him. Clint didn’t even flinch as the blast went through his stomach and harmlessly dissipated through him. That threw her for a loop and she frowned.

“Perhaps you would like to tell me who you are looking for,” Loki said smoothly, reaching forward to push Clint’s bow down.

Her fiery eyes turned back to him. “You kidnapped fifteen Skrulls from their ship and took them to Asgard. I have hunted you across the galaxy in order to find them and return them to their new home.”

Loki raised an eyebrow and motioned for Tony to stand down, which he slowly did. Clint fully lowered his bow, not un-nocking the arrow as he frowned at the stranger. “The Skrulls you seek are under sanctuary on Asgard,” Loki informed her, his tone a bit imperious. “They were taken hostage by Kree-affiliated soldiers on Xandar. My husband and my personal guard rescued them and took them to Asgard to keep them from harm. I suppose you are already aware that you cannot take anyone under sanctuary forcibly from Asgard.”

She touched the side of her mask and it vanished, revealing her face and long, curly blonde hair. “I am Carol Danvers,” she said, and Loki’s chin lifted. “I know of you, Loki of Asgard, and your little pet human. Tales of you travelled all over the galaxy, and when there were reports of you and Skrulls going missing on Xandar…” she shook her head. “Take me to Asgard, then. I must take the Skrulls to Talos.”

Loki smiled at her. “Oh, I must regretfully decline.” He motioned to the destruction around them. “You must understand I cannot take one so destructive to the hallowed halls of Asgard.”

Carol glared at him and bared her teeth. “Either you take me to Asgard or I take the Skrulls out of there by force.”

Clint raised his bow again and aimed an arrow at her.

“As much as I would enjoy seeing such an act, even one such as you could not best the whole of Asgard’s armies.”

“Do you know her?” Tony asked Loki, who lazily shrugged one shoulder.

“I have heard rumor of her,” Loki replied. “As you can imagine, one capable of such acts as she is does not go unnoticed in the universe. Captain Marvel, is it?”

“That’s what they call me,” Carol replied tightly. “I took down the Kree and Hala and the Supreme Intelligence. I can’t imagine Asgard would be any more difficult.”

“What about Asgard and the Avengers?” Tony stepped forward, repulsors whirring up on his hands. At the same time, a massive group of Nif warriors filed in, spears and weapons and guns at the ready. “What about this planet?”

“What about me?” Clint grit out, and he loosed his arrow. Carol made to strike it out of the air with a photon blast, but wasn’t quite fast enough, and it struck her in the shoulder. She snarled at it and staggered back, face going white.

Loki reached out and gently set one hand on the back of Clint’s neck. “Down, boy,” he murmured, and then turned to look at Carol, who was trying to pull the arrow out but her hands kept phasing through the shaft. “That arrow is tipped with a potion called _eitr_ , or enemy.” He smiled as her eyes narrowed. “Oh, you have heard of it. Good. Now, I will remove it and give you a healing potion if, and only if, you step back and have a reasonable conversation with me.”

Carol lifted her chin and pushed forward, strands of power wrapping around her hand and she pressed it to the wound. “Where are they?”

“Upon Asgard,” Loki replied, summoning a chair and sitting down in it. Clint moved over to stand at his right knee, bow and arrow at the ready, sunken eyes dark and intent on Carol. “I have absolutely no interest in harming a few Skrulls, Captain. Now, sit, and let us discuss.” He summoned a few more chairs and motioned for Tony and Carol to sit as well. Loki crossed one leg over the other and clasped his hands in his lap.

The Nif scientists all herded behind Loki and Tony, and the warriors encircled them, creating a shield for the seidrmadrs, who began putting the building back together. The Iron Man armor went back into Tony’s bracelet and he sat, keeping a cautious eye on Carol, who slumped down into her chair, one hand still burning with power as she kept it clamped over the arrow wound in her shoulder.

“Now,” Loki said with an overly-pleasant smile, “Let us begin from the beginning. I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, and this is my ally, Tony Stark of Midgard.” Her eyes flicked to Clint, who hadn’t moved and was still staring at her. “Oh, do not mind him. But if you know of me, you know of him. He is Clint Barton of Midgard, and he is my personal guard. He and my husband, Steve Rogers, or, as you may know him, Captain America, rescued the missing Skrulls from the Kree-affiliated planet, Xandar. My husband asked for formal sanctuary from King Balder and it was granted. So your friends are safe. So, why are you attacking me?”

Carol glared at him. “Take this fucking thing out of me and we’ll talk, Lie-smith.”

Loki waved a hand and the arrow dissolved. 

“Are you human?” Tony asked. Loki rolled his eyes.

“Bit rude,” Carol muttered, sending strands of power into the wound to heal it. “But I was. Then the Kree kidnapped me and turned me into one of their Starforce agents. Long story.” She blinked a few times and then looked at Loki again. “Hold on, Captain America is dead. I learned about him in school. His plane went down in the Arctic.”

Loki smiled, all teeth. “They found him and brought him back. And, as fate would have it, he is now my husband.”

“Wait,” Tony interjected. “When did all this happen? Also, I thought you said Barton was sick.”

“He is sick,” Loki replied, and reached forward to wave his hand through the projection of Clint at his side. Carol frowned and looked down to see that the arrow wound in her shoulder had disappeared. “This happened when Steve and Clint went to Xandar to retrieve the Power Stone. In between retrieving the Power and Soul Stone, they managed to rescue a few imprisoned Skrulls.”

“What’s a Skrull?”

Carol snorted and shook her head.

“A race of beings that are able to take the forms of other beings,” Loki informed him. “They resisted Kree rule and were then villainized across the universe. It seems that Captain Marvel here has been assisting them.” She nodded. “Let us make a deal, Miss Danvers. I take it you have heard of Thanos?”

Her eyes lit aflame.

* * *

Einherjar opened the door and Loki walked confidently into the throne room, Carol walking a few paces behind him. Tony had decided to go back to Midgard to talk to the Avengers and SHIELD about what he had learned on Niflheim. Clint’s projection had disappeared and they had been joined by the actual man, who had taken one of Loki’s new yellow energizing potions and was looking almost halfway human.

 _Surprised he actually stayed quiet while you were talking to her,_ Clint mused as they waited at the bottom of the stairs to the throne for Balder to join them. _Usually when he’s thrown off his game he goes hyperverbal and commandeers the situation._

Loki gave him a fond look. _I put him under a calming spell once we arrived on Niflheim. Steve may like him but I really do find him intolerable._

 _Obnoxious one, isn’t he?_ Clint motioned to Carol with his chin. _You two talk about the Tesseract yet?_

_No. I do not believe she is aware I am in possession of it._

_Make sure I’m around when you tell her._

_Of course._

A side door opened and Balder entered the throne room, along with the Skrulls, who all exclaimed Carol’s name and rushed towards her. She greeted them and gave them reluctant hugs, and then spoke to them in their native Skrullos language about Talos and the colony he’d set up. Hala had been completely destroyed, along with the Supreme Intelligence, but there were still Kree and Kree-affiliated ships and planets that she was working on eradicating. They told her about their comrades and she mourned with them.

Balder strode up to Loki and Clint and clapped a heavy hand on both of their backs. “My friends,” he greeted. “I heard news from Niflheim that you had ventured there. How goes it?”

“Cold,” Loki sighed out, sliding out from under Balder’s massive hand. “An endless wasteland made better by the stars and made worse by the company. I see you raised no threat with the Captain arriving.”

Balder motioned to the Einherjar posted around the room. “Ah, but I did. Did you come to an agreement with her?”

“Yes,” Loki replied. “She will give us assistance in defeating Thanos if I brought her to Asgard and showed her that the Skrulls were alive and well. I told her I would not allow her to take them from here if they did not wish it, but we could break the pact of sanctuary if they wished to leave and go to Talos.” He sighed. “She tells me she has been hunting Thanos but has been unable to find him.”

“I doubt that will be a problem any longer,” Balder pointed out amusedly. “Heimdall tells me he comes closer with every passing day. He is headed for Midgard.”

“Good,” Loki said. “That is where we will battle him.” He raised his voice. “Captain! Do come here, if you would.”

Carol nodded to him and then spoke to the Skrulls for a few more minutes before excusing herself and coming over. She introduced herself to Balder, who uncomfortably shook her hand when she outstretched it, and then gave her thanks to Loki. “They tell me you are very brave,” Carol said to Clint, who shrugged.

“Brave or stupid, it’s really kind of the same thing.”

Her gaze flicked over him. “So were you on Niflheim or not?”

“No,” Clint conceded, “but a projection of me was.” He stepped back and held out a hand, palm up, and a small bubble of seidr appeared in his palm and then swirled up and appeared in a duplication of Clint on Loki’s other side. Carol looked between them a few times before the duplicate disappeared. Clint shrugged at her and turned to look up at Loki. “What’s next?”

“A meeting, I suppose,” Loki sighed. “Balder, will you join us?”

“If I am needed, then of course.”

Loki nodded. “To Midgard, then,” he told Carol, and grabbed Clint’s hand and led him away.

Carol raised an eyebrow at them as they left the throne room. “Thought he said he was married to Captain America,” she muttered.

“He is,” Balder told her proudly. “Clint is his personal guard.”

“Yeah, he’s said that before. What’s that mean on Asgard?”

Balder stroked a hand down his beard. “They are shield-brothers. They are closer than blood or bond. They know each other as well as two separate Aesir can know one another, and they would lay down their lives for each other. There is more to it than that, of course, but I suppose that is enough for now.” He looked down at her and then over at the Skrulls. “Have they decided if they are leaving?”

Carol shook her head. “Not yet, I don’t think. I’m going to try and push them to go to Talos, but you have given them a comfortable and safe life here.” Balder smiled at that. “When do we go to Earth?”

“Tomorrow, I believe. I will have an Einherjar escort you to guest rooms, and breakfast will be brought to you before we depart.” Carol turned away but Balder stopped her. “Whatever reason you are here, Captain Danvers, I wish to tell you something: if you threaten my brother’s life again, it won’t be Clint you have to deal with. It will be me, and I am far more powerful than he.”

Carol glared at him. “You don’t scare me,” she bit out.

“I don’t intend to,” Balder replied easily. “You are not worth the effort to make afraid. But I wish for you to know this: Loki is my brother, and he is very precious to me. However powerful you are, I am stronger, I am faster, and I am mightier. You may be on our side now, but I will not forget that you made an attempt on his life.”

From the doorway, Loki and Clint glanced at each other before they vanished.

Carol looked up at him and nodded, then went back to the Skrulls. Balder made his way back up the stairs to his throne, where he lounged and watched carefully as Carol and the Skrulls sat down at a table a few servants brought in, and they all ate heartily and spoke with each other joyfully. Every once in a while, Carol looked up to see Balder keeping an eye on her, but she elected to pay him little mind as she caught up with her Skrull friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just sliding in here to say that this series has finally reached over half a million words! kind of wild to have written that much, especially for a series that about 4 people read. pretty cool though still!
> 
> also, just in case you haven't seen: ao3 is not adding non-registered users to the total hit counts of fics for the time being due to the excess of users due to covid-19. that means authors (like myself) are getting remarkably less views, which is very disheartening, especially in the current times when a lot more people are using this website and everyone's depressed anyway. it can be frustrating to expect a certain amount of views per chapter and not come anywhere close to it because the hit counts are no longer showing the actual number. it is also frustrating to write a whole fic that has gotten the amount of kudos total that i used to get per chapter, so please leave kudos and comments.
> 
> so! i have quite a few ao3 invitations that i'm willing to give out to anyone who needs them so they can start their own account. just leave your email address as a comment (that i'm happy to delete if you want) or send me a message either here or on twitter. thanks! happy reading, folks


	9. chapter nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ this fic was on temporary hiatus due to burnout/a breakdown i had to deal with. i wrote a brief explanation of that here in these notes, and have now moved it to my tumblr.](https://deluxemycroft.tumblr.com/post/616244980448722944/)

“Tony and I had dinner,” Steve told Loki as Sif helped him get undressed. Loki was lounging on the bed, his head in Clint’s lap, dressed in a thin gold robe. Clint was asleep, one hand tangled in Loki’s hair, the other cradling Loki’s jaw.

“Oh?” Loki replied absently, eyes locked on Steve’s bare torso.

“He told me about Niflheim,” Steve continued, stepping out of his pants and taking the new ones Sif held out for him. “Still can’t believe you two were together for more than a day without killing each other. But Tony has gone from disliking you to just being confused by you, so I guess that’s a win.”

“I considered his dislike of me a win,” Loki replied, pulling Clint’s hand away from his face and setting it on the archer’s stomach. “What else did you speak of?” He frowned as Steve pulled on a shirt. Sif went into the bathroom to get a glass of water and a cloth to set on the nightstand and then took up her post next to the door.

Steve sighed and joined Loki and Clint on the bed. Loki reached over and took one of his hands, twisting their fingers together. “Niflheim is kind of socialist, right?”

“I have no earthly idea what that means.”

“Um, everyone is equal, no one is really richer or poorer, everyone gets the same no matter how hard they work, that kind of thing.”

“I suppose,” Loki considered. “Everyone on Niflheim is taken care of, and everyone works to better the greater good. It is possibly the exact opposite of how Tony lives.”

Steve chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what he thought. Anyway, he thought that’s what you were trying to teach him, that we all have to work together to better everything for everyone, not just a few people.”

“I wasn’t trying to teach him anything,” Loki replied mildly. “I told him I was so he would keep quiet in trying to figure out my lesson. I simply wished to antagonize him.”

“Well, you achieved that.” Steve pulled his hand out of Loki’s and reached over to lift Loki’s head from Clint’s lap. He motioned with his free hand at Sif and she came over to the bed to lift up Clint. Loki frowned and tried to sit up, but Steve held him down. Sif inclined her head at them and carefully carried Clint out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

“Steve?”

Steve moved over and straddled Loki’s hips, pinning him down to the bed. “Tomorrow,” Steve began after he rucked Loki’s robe open and thumbed at his nipples, “after we meet with the Avengers, Sif and I are going to Asgard. I’m going to train with the Einherjar.”

“Smart,” Loki replied with a gasp, twisting up into Steve’s grasp. Seidr kept his hands tied down to the bed above his head and he strained against his bonds. “What do you intend to do with me?”

“Whatever I want,” Steve mused, twisting Loki’s nipples in between his fingers. “I’m thinking I’ll ask Nat and Brunnhilde to come with. They’re busy on Earth but they could probably do with blowing off steam a bit. What do you and Clint intend to do?”

Loki arched up into his touch as Steve leaned down and latched onto one of Loki’s nipples, hips twisting as he thrust down into Loki’s groin. “Gamora,” Loki gasped out with a wretched, pained sound. “I must speak with her. And I believe we will have to call an Idavollr.”

“Is that so?” Steve asked as he mouthed up Loki’s neck, sucking in deep bruises into the pale skin. He bit into the soft skin under Loki’s chin, digging his teeth in, then moved up to bite gently at Loki’s chin and jaw. Loki drew in ragged, deep breaths, hips twisting. “Have you been good, Loki? Have you touched yourself?”

“No,” Loki whispered. “I’ve been good.” He squeezed his eyes shut and then they flew open as Steve bit down on his cheek.

“Tell me how you’ve been good,” Steve ordered, bringing his right hand up to Loki’s hair and twisting his fingers in, activating the Power Stone and sending tendrils of bright purple power down over Loki’s face and twisting down his neck to tighten and take away his breath.

“Haven’t touched myself,” Loki breathed out, voice tight. “It’s been _forever_ , my Captain, but I have done as you asked.”

“I don’t remember _asking_ anything,” Steve interjected firmly.

Loki swallowed around the power restricting his throat. “I have done as you ordered,” he said, eyes locked up on Steve’s face. “I have not masturbated or handled myself beyond going to the bathroom or cleaning. I have not even ejaculated in my sleep. I have waited for you.”

Steve smiled down at him and leaned down to kiss Loki’s lips, caressing the inside of the god’s mouth with his tongue, and then he pulled back and gave Loki a considering look. Loki laid out underneath him, bathed in purple light, eyes soft as he looked up at Steve. Steve reached down with his free hand to force Loki’s mouth open, and then he leaned down, hovering over Loki.

_I was going to fuck you,_ Steve told him. _That’s what I wanted to do. Or mouth fuck you until you passed out._ Loki whimpered at the thought. _Instead, I’m going to sit back and watch you jerk yourself off. Then I’m going to fuck you while you’re still all sweet and relaxed._

Loki smiled in agreement but his seidr didn’t release his hands.

_Do it without your hands._

With that, Steve leaned forward and spit into Loki’s open mouth.

Loki let out a loud whine entirely without meaning to.

Steve sat up and smirked down at him. _Oh, you liked that, didn’t you?_ Loki struggled against his seidr bonds, body arching and straining just the way Steve liked. Steve settled back on Loki’s thighs and surrounded the god with purple strands of power, watching as they tangled with Loki’s seidr, wrapping around his throbbing cock and stroking him just the way he liked. 

Loki was in a verbal mood apparently, whimpering and whining, mouth glistening, eyes locked on Steve as he watched Loki’s hops twist and his seidr curl around his balls and back down to tease at his hole and then back up again to swirl slowly and deliciously around his dick. 

_I think about your hands on me,_ Loki told him on a soft breath of air. _I think about you holding me down and having your way with me. I think about you dragging me out of a boring council meeting and shoving me up against the wall and not even waiting for me to ready myself, just pushing aside my robes and stuffing me full. I think about how strong you are and how I want you to rip me open until I know nothing other than you._

Pre-come slid down his cock and Steve pushed Loki’s hips down as he leaned forward to slide his tongue up the side of Loki’s cock, licking it up. He sat back up and sent more tendrils of power around Loki’s ever-hardening and weeping cock, the god letting out a sobbing gasp. _Keep telling me what else you want me to do to you._

_The throne!_ Loki cried out. _Fuck me on Balder’s throne. On any throne. Push my face into the seat and split me open. Sit on it and bounce me on your cock like I’m—Norns, Steve, I want you to show me how much you want me. All I want is for you to want me so much that you can’t help but take it._ Loki turned his head away from him, giving out small gasps as his seidr continued to stroke him, and a faint blush rose up on his cheeks. 

_Is that so?_ Steve asked. _That’s why you like me fucking you while you’re asleep or paralyzed._

_I also do enjoy being of service,_ Loki replied, throwing his head back as Steve’s strong hand wrapped around his dick. Steve moved his hand up and down, twisting around the head the way Loki liked, thumbing over his slit and digging his nail in, smoothing pre-come up and down his shaft. 

_All you want is to be wanted,_ Steve said, and he leaned over Loki until his face was hovering over the god’s. He waited until Loki was looking at him again to spit into Loki’s mouth, and at the same time, Loki came, letting out a loud, pathetic cry, spurring over his stomach and chest. 

Steve reached down to Loki’s hole and smiled to himself at feeling the god already open and wet for him. He hiked Loki’s hips up with his hands and slid his cock home. _Is this what you wanted? Me taking my pleasure in you? Me knowing you’re already oversensitive and shaking but I need you so much that I don’t care? Knowing that after this I’ll need to fuck you again?_

Loki whimpered, staying loose and languid, Steve fucking hard and deep into him, imprinting himself on Loki’s insides. Somehow, even with all the various times they’d had sex and all the times Loki had had sex in his life, every single time with Steve was better than the last. His pleasure continued to mount until he was shaking beneath Steve again, who had leaned forward to press kisses to Loki’s bowed chest. 

Steve came just a minute later, moaning out Loki’s name, and then he gathered Loki up to his chest, stroking his sweaty hair and waiting until their heart rates both dropped until he gently set Loki down and pulled out of him. He pulled the strands of power off and out of Loki and waited until Loki’s seidr disappeared before he got out of bed to get the glass of water and the washcloth off the nightstand. He carefully wiped Loki and himself clean and then had Loki drink half the glass of water before sliding him under the furs and blankets before joining him. 

Loki curled against his chest, eyes fluttering shut. _I would not be opposed to that being a permanent aspect of our sex life._

_Which part?_ Loki scrunched his face up and Steve smiled at him and carded his hand through his hair. _Okay, I’ll make it easier: the part where you’re prohibited from masturbation, the part where I watched, or the part where I used the Power Stone?_

_Oh, well then. All of those. I was referring specifically to me having to ask permission to masturbate, but perhaps we could extend it to when I am alone._

_Yeah, I don’t mind that. Alright, new rule going forward: you ask to jerk off. I know you’re going to use it to distract me in the middle of a fight or something, but I won’t stop you from doing that as I know you’d just find a way around it or find a way to do it worse. Good?_

Loki paused and then nodded. He pulled back a little from Steve and sat up, summoning a new washcloth from the bathroom to wipe the sweat off his chest and shoulders. Steve gently took it from him and let Loki fret to himself as he figured out what he wanted to say. He wiped down the back of Loki’s neck and over his face and Loki carefully relaxed under his gentle ministrations. 

Finally, Loki gathered enough of himself to ask, _Is there something similar to...prearranged rape?_

_I think so? Like something you agree to beforehand and then I spring it on you?_

Loki nodded, not bothering to try and keep the eagerness out of the motion. _Yes. That’s exactly what I mean._

Steve considered it. He waited until Loki looked at him to say, “I’m going to have to think about that one, to be honest with you. I don’t have a problem with it, or with that dirty talk you like, and I’m agreeing to it, but I need to think about it.” He sighed and sat up straight, fiddling with the washcloth for something to do with his hands. Loki reached out and rested his left hand on top of Steve’s, his ring catching the light. Steve smiled at the sight. “I just have to wrap my head around the thought of doing something like that to someone. I assume you’d want it the whole nine yards, fighting and screaming and all.”

“I would give you—”

Steve held up his free hand. “Loki, no. You’re asking for something big here. Tell me exactly what you want.”

Loki gave him a long, searching look, and then said, “I wish for you to find me unsuspectingly and take me away, no matter how I scream or fight. I wish for you to tell me what you’re going to do to me and that I’m going to like it. Then I want you to hold me down and fuck me so I hard I bleed.”

Steve considered that and then he nodded. “Alright,” he said. “You let me think about it, and we’re going to have to talk about it again, but I’m into it.”

Loki leaned forward and kissed him, a soft sweet thing, and then Loki pulled back and murmured, “I love you, my Captain.”

“I love you too, Loki.”

They were soon both asleep, Loki curled up in his Captain’s arms.

* * *

_You need to wake up._

Loki jerked awake, sitting up quickly, breath catching in his throat, seidr swirling around his hands. He looked around his rooms and his eyes landed on Clint, who was leaning against the bedpost at the end of the bed, arms crossed over his chest. Loki sagged in relief, seidr dissipating. _What do you need?_ he asked, gently disengaging himself from Steve, who grumbled in his sleep and rolled over to his other side.

_Figured you would want to see this._ With that, Clint tugged off his shirt and stepped up so Loki could see his chest.

There were Asgardian runes carved into his chest, shining with green seidr.

Loki made a curious sound and reached out, brushing his fingers over the rune over Clint’s breastbone. It shone a bit brighter under his touch. “This is my rune,” Loki murmured. “You have been marked as mine.”

“It happened last night,” Clint replied, keeping his voice low. “In my sleep. Didn’t even feel it happen, just woke up with my chest glowing.” He smirked. “Barely got to sleep at all. Your nasty weird sex with Cap got me going enough that I basically jumped Stephen.”

“Oh?” Loki asked, gently tracing over the rune. Clint lifted up one of his hands and showed Loki his palm, where the same rune was imprinted. Same with his other palm, and Clint lifted up his feet to show that the runes were also on the bottom of his feet.

“Yeah, you know how I can change my form because I’m all seidr? Well…” Clint drifted off and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Loki glanced up at him. “And?” he said back, finding himself unable to stop touching his rune.

“Well, I, uh, made myself different. Down there.”

“You’re going to have to elaborate.”

Clint sighed. “I made myself a pussy. Stephen was fuckin’ _into_ it.”

“Is that so?”

“So was Laura, for that matter. Didn’t realize she, y’know, swung like that, but they wore me the hell out.”

“I am glad to hear it. Did they satisfy you? I could charm them to—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Steve groaned out. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes. “Please don’t talk about putting spells on people when you and I keep having talks about consent.” He paused at seeing the rune on Clint’s chest. “What’s that?”

“It is my rune,” Loki clarified, finally dropping his hand from Clint’s chest and picking up one of his hands to stroke over the rune on his palm. “It seems that Clint’s seidr has branded him as mine in a very...literal way. I wonder if this is a side-effect of the Soul Stone or perhaps you taking another into your bed?” He hummed. “On that topic, I am glad you are well-satisfied in bed, Clint.”

“Yeah, me too.” Clint shot the two of them a wry grin. “It was you two fuckin’ around that got me going so hard anyway, so maybe I should be thanking you.”

“You are welcome, of course,” Loki replied, and dropped Clint’s hand, sliding out of bed and slipping over to the bathroom. Clint turned to look down at Steve, who was shaking his head.

“Don’t,” Steve finally sighed. “I don’t want to hear about it. I’m happy for you, just don’t want to hear about it.” He motioned to the bathroom. “Is he taking a bath?” Clint nodded. “Alright, good. I’m gonna shower.”

Steve got out of bed and patted Clint on the chest as he passed him, right over Loki’s rune. Clint followed Steve in and pulled a stool over to the tub, where Loki was opening the faucets to fill it. Loki handed Clint his robe and slid into the water, leaning back against the side of the tub and closing his eyes. Steve turned on the shower and got in, shutting the glass door behind himself.

“What is having a vagina like?” Loki asked Clint. Steve swore under his breath and dropped a bottle of shampoo on his foot.

“You’ve changed forms before,” Clint reminded him, picking up a crystal and breaking it before dropping it in the water, bubbles coming out and covering the surface. Clint thought for a minute. “Don’t think you were ever fucked, though.”

“We have to have this conversation now?” Steve called.

“When else would it happen? Over breakfast? Clint has _children,_ ” Loki pointed out. “And no, I have never had sex while in another form. The thought was always...abhorrent.”

“Makes sense,” Clint replied. “But it was kind of...it was really intense. I got super revved up and wanted Stephen to fuck me, and my body just kind of made it. I felt empty in a way I haven’t before, and the way you get wet? I think you should try it.”

“I will consider it,” Loki hummed as he turned his head into Clint’s hands as Clint poured water over his head. “How different is it from anal sex?”

“God help me,” Steve said to himself.

“No stretching, for one, but I rarely liked that anyway. But it kind of felt like something was sliding into place, like something was going where it belonged. Again, boss, think you’d like it.”

“Would you be averse to the act, Steve?”

“I’m not a part of this,” Steve decided, turning off the shower and stepping out of the stall. He rubbed a towel over his hair and then wrapped it around his waist. “Loki, you don’t need to change anything about yourself. Ever. We can talk about this, if it’s something you really want to do, but not right now.” With that, Steve left the bathroom.

“He really does have an aversion to me changing anything about myself for him,” Loki mentioned, letting Clint push his head under water to wash his hair. Once he surfaced again, Loki continued, “Is that a good thing?”

“Probably,” Clint replied. “I think Steve’s made it clear he loves you exactly how you are and doesn’t want you to feel obligated to act or do anything differently because of him.”

“But I do,” Loki pointed out. “I regularly change my actions based on what Steve would approve or disapprove of.”

“Does he know that?”

Loki considered it. “He must,” he finally decided, and leaned forward so Clint could scrub his back. “How could he not know?”

Clint shrugged. “I think Steve is the type that doesn’t like other people sacrificing for him, so he probably doesn’t think about it.” He soaped up his hands and massaged Loki’s shoulders, feeling the runes in his palms tingle. “You want breakfast? I’m starvin’.”

Loki nodded and Clint rinsed him off and then helped him out of the tub, the water draining away. He sat down at his vanity to get ready for the day while Clint gathered up an outfit for him from the bedroom.

Someone knocked on the door and Stephen poked his head in. Clint grinned at him and met him for a kiss, then waved for him to follow him back into the bathroom. Stephen paused uncomfortably in the doorway and then leaned against the doorjamb, awkwardly crossing his arms over his chest. “I just came to see if you wanted breakfast. And if you’re sore or anything.”

Clint winked at him as he picked up a brush and began brushing through Loki’s damp hair. “Feel pretty good, actually. Takes more than that to make me walk funny the next day.”

“Do you have preferences on your partner’s genitalia?” Loki asked Stephen, who choked on air and then coughed, holding a shaking hand to his mouth.

“No,” Stephen finally said, still coughing a bit. “I’m bisexual. Don’t have a preference either way. I’ve dated more women, though, but I’ve never really thought about that before now.” He glanced at Clint. “I’ve never been in a relationship with more than one person before, either. Didn’t think I was the type.”

Clint shrugged, warming oil in his hands before brushing it through Loki’s hair. “Neither did I,” he told Stephen. “But here we are now, and we’re working with what we got.” He finished up with Loki’s hair and stepped back, helping Loki to his feet and then helping him get dressed. Stephen uncomfortably told them he’d be in the kitchen and disappeared. Loki finished getting dressed and then Clint pulled on a shirt and they left Loki’s rooms and met everyone in the kitchen. Laura pressed a kiss to Clint’s cheek and handed him a plate of food, which he immediately set down in front of Loki and the two of them shared the plate.

A while later, after they all finished talking and enjoying each other’s company and good food, Loki changed again into more formal attire, as did Clint, and Stephen dressed in traditional clothes, Steve pulling on his uniform and picking up his shield, and they went to the Avengers Facility for their meeting.

* * *

“Hello,” Loki said with a slow smile. Behind him, Clint glanced around and then leaned against the far wall, casually crossing his arms over his chest.

From the cell, Gamora glared at him.

Loki continued to smile. Carefully, he tugged at the wards he’d placed and pulled them down. Gamora cautiously pushed to her feet and looked around the cell, then walked up to the plexiglass. She touched it and her hand phased directly through. She jumped back and then gave them a wary look and stepped through the plexiglass, out into the hallway.

“Hello,” Loki said again.

“Loki,” Gamora greeted slowly. “What is this? Is this a scheme of yours?”

“Yes,” he replied. “But you can run, if you wish.”

Gamora looked up and down the empty hallway and the moment she decided to chance it, she caught Clint’s gaze. He looked kind of amused, as if the thought of her trying to escape was a joke, as if they both knew she would never get far enough for it to matter. A game where she could run and run and he would always catch her. She wondered if he knew they called her the deadliest woman in the galaxy, wondered if he would even care if he knew.

“Why are you here?” Gamora asked instead of doing anything, pulling her gaze away from Clint and back to Loki. “To let me go?”

“To ask you to help us,” Loki replied instead. “To ask you to join us.”

It was a trick. It had to be. She knew of Loki, knew how he had tricked Thanos, had heard of him long before they’d even begun the hunt for the Infinity Stones or Thanos had pulled her into his unending diabolical madness. There wasn’t anything else this could be. She wanted to run. Every instinct told her to fight, and if she couldn’t fight, then she needed to run. But then she caught Clint’s eye again and froze. For the first time in a long time, she froze.

She’d been in the cell for a few weeks, if not longer. It’d been awhile. Time didn’t really matter when all she did was sit around and give blood and answer questions and talk to a therapist and run around and do push-ups and lift weights during her scheduled and heavily supervised yard time. She was a prisoner. Every moment had been plotting an impossible escape, and now when she had the chance, she froze.

Because of fucking ugly Clint Barton. A _human_. Or whatever weird, gross thing he was.

“What do you need help with?” Gamora asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Why, killing Thanos, of course.” And with that, Loki smiled.

* * *

They all sat in the largest conference room in the Avengers Facility. Loki chose the exact middle seat, back to the windows so that the light shone on him, with Clint to his right and Steve, who was busy talking to Tony and Bruce at the far end of the room, to his left. Stephen took the seat on Clint’s other side, with Gamora sitting next to him so they could keep an eye on her. She’d agreed to help but none of them trusted her. Sif stood behind her chair, keeping an eye on her for any threat. 

Slowly, Avengers began to file in, as did Balder and Valkyrie and Carol, and eventually, the room was full. They’d called in everyone so it took awhile for all of them to arrive. They all talked for a few minutes and then slowly, everyone turned to look down the table at Loki, who was carefully sipping a cup of coffee while Clint balanced an arrow on one of his fingers. 

Loki set down his cup and looked around the room at the lot of them. “When I came to Midgard for the very first time, it was with the intention to help. I am now here to ask you for help. We have a great duty before us, one that I believe will be very difficult to fulfil. But we must, for there is no one else capable.” He took in a deep breath and looked down the table to meet Steve’s gaze. “Thanos comes ever closer. We have a few months at most. His fleet is too large to use any jump points, but he may send small scouts ahead. Every moment is crucial.” He turned to look down the table at T’Challa. “Asgardian seidrmadrs are already making their way to Wakanda to begin raising and reinforcing shields.” T’Challa nodded. “Steve will go to Asgard to train with the Einherjar. There is an open invitation to anyone in this room to go with him if they so wish.”

Loki motioned down the table to Gamora, who frowned at him. “This is Gamora. She is one of Thanos’s Children. One of his daughters, in fact. Prior to battling Thor, I assisted Hela in gathering up Thanos’s Children so that she could have their souls. We found most of them in various parts of the galaxy while they searched for the Infinity Stones. We have five of the six Infinity Stones, with a device in the works that can counteract or, at minimum, alert when the Reality Stone is being used.”

Clint continued for him, “What we need is help. We need battle plans. We need strategic thinkers. We need people to put their minds to work and we need people to train. Thanos is unlike anything anyone of us have seen before. We want him to come here, to Earth, to somewhere where we know the territory and the terrain and we have the upper hand.”

“And that is Wakanda,” T’Challa affirmed. Clint nodded.

“I have heard of Thanos,” Carol informed everyone. “But I have been...busy. I left C-53—”

“C-53?” Tony interrupted.

“That is the designation for Earth,” Carol explained. “I left nearly twenty years ago. My priority was Hala and the Kree and dismantling the Supreme Intelligence.”

Of course, that raised up questions, Carol patiently explaining what had happened to her and how she had gotten her powers from the Tesseract and how the Kree had kidnapped her and turned her into a warrior. She had been in the Air Force, which sparked an excited conversation between Sam and Carol about their shared history. Then they managed to steer the conversation back to Thanos, which had Loki asking, “What have you heard of him, Captain?”

“Little,” Carol sighed. “I hear rumor his goal is to eradicate half of all life. I believe I heard of him attempting that with one or two planets? But I cannot be certain.”

Loki nodded and looked down the table to Gamora. “How many planets would you say he has, perhaps, halved in population?”

She shook her head. “I can’t be certain, but at least a few dozen. He started with smaller planets, when his armies were smaller. Terra would be far outside his ability, especially with the loss of his armies and his Children.”

“How does a madman like that even get loyalists?” Rhodes piped up.

“He threatens to kill them, or they believe he will not harm them or their planet if they help him. That is not true, of course. And there are the few that truly believe he is right.” Gamora shook her head. “Even I believed him, even after he killed half of the planet he stole me from. Thanos inspiries a great deal of loyalty because he is mighty and powerful, far more powerful than you can even know.”

Steve took a step forward, arms crossed over his chest, purple strands of power curling from his right fist and up his arm. “Gamora,” he said sternly, “he may be powerful. From what I know of him, that’s going to be our biggest hurdle. But we’re stronger. We may not look it, but we are. No matter what he throws at us, no matter how powerful he is, _no matter what_ , we’re going to push against it, and we’re going to win.” He looked pointedly around the room, at the Vision, at Loki, at Bruce, at Clint, at Stephen, and then back at Gamora. “You know more about him than anyone else here. You’re our best chance at knowing his weaknesses and learning his strategies and figure out how to beat him with the least damage to our people.”

Gamora nodded and looked around. “He has no weaknesses other than his pride,” she told them. “He is absolutely convinced he is right.” She inclined her head to Loki. “As you have seen, he _can_ be thrown off his game, but it is difficult. You managed to do it on Vormir, and it is one of the few times I have seen him truly speechless.”

Loki sat back in his chair, smirking smugly. Clint rolled his eyes.

“Tell us about his armies,” Tony requested, pulling out a tablet and a pen.

“He has the Outriders, a race of subservient beasts that only has one purpose: to fight. Then he has the Chitauri—”

“Whoa, no!” Tony exclaimed. “We killed the hell out of the Chitauri, Wicked Witch of the West.”

Gamora glanced down the table at Loki, who shrugged slightly. She certainly had no witch powers, but Tony was very stupid. Perhaps he believed her hair or the color of her skin gave her powers.

“You killed _some_ of the Chitauri. The Outriders and the Chitauri are Thanos’s greatest allies and his greatest weapons. They are innumerable. It is entirely possible to defeat them, of course, especially with the allies we have. But their greatest strength lies in overwhelming their opponent until they win the battle by sheer force of numbers. He also has the forces of the various planets that have allied with him, although those have reduced in number as of late.”

“Is that so?” Loki queried.

Gamora sighed. “You and your pet here have traveled far around your Nine Realms and the planets beyond. Word has spread very far of your power and your stance in the galaxy. Thor was very well known, after all, and only someone far more powerful could even hope to defeat him.”

“Wait,” Carol interjected. “Thor is dead?”

Loki smiled smugly at her. “Yes. I killed him.”

She sat back in her chair and blinked in shock.

“Do you have a problem with that?” Clint asked, watching her cautiously.

Carol shook her head. “I have heard great stories of him,” she replied. “He was a fearsome warrior and a powerful opponent. During my search for a new home for the Skrulls, I came across a planet that Thor had...decimated is not enough of a word. He destroyed it. It was uninhabitable. I also heard of his battles and met those who dared oppose him, although I never met in battle myself.” She nodded once. “I am glad to hear of his death.”

Loki smiled. “I like this one,” he said quietly to Clint, who rolled his eyes.

“Continuing on,” Steve said pointedly, looking back at Gamora. “Is there any way we can find those who used to be loyal to Thanos and get them to fight against him?”

“No,” Gamora snorted, but before she could explain, Balder interrupted.

“We do not need these paltry armies when we are backed by the whole of the Nine Realms! We have more armies than Thanos could ever dream of.” Balder beamed at Loki and then down the table at Steve.

Gamora nodded and expounded, “We could also not attempt to sway them to our side because Thanos kills everyone who defects from him. It’s a rather effective loyalty solution.”

“Do you have a number for how many loyalists Thanos has?” Sam asked from where he was sitting between Scott Lang and Bruce Banner. “There’s, what, twenty of us here? How many Wakandan warriors? How many Einherjar? How many sorcerers from Kamar-Taj?”

Gamora considered that and sighed. “It would be impossible to give an accurate number. Dozens of thousands, if not hundreds.”

“There are an average of 1000 Einherjar at any one time,” Balder informed them. “We are in the process of doubling that number for this battle with Thanos.” He looked to Loki. “You know how many there are in other Realms, brother.”

Clint answered for him, pulling out a notebook and paging through it. “Niflheim sends 500 warriors, Jotunheim sends just over 2000, Muspelheim sends 3000, Alfheim sends 2000, Vanaheim sends 1000 warriors and 1000 barbarians, and Svartalfheim sends 1500. There is no number from Helheim but Hela will bring as many as she can, which will effectively triple or quadruple our numbers.”

“That’s it?” Tony asked. “That’s, what, 12,000 warriors plus whatever from Hel? We’re supposed to win a war with that few—”

“Few?” Loki bit out. “These Realms send their best and bravest warriors to die in a battle that is not theirs and you say it is _few?_ ”

“How isn’t it theirs?” Bruce asked. “If Thanos is going to kill half the galaxy, then it’s everyone’s battle.”

“We have the Infinity Stones! Unless all five of us fail and give them away, there is no possible way Thanos can achieve his goal. You are a Keeper of one of these Stones, Doctor. It is something worth dying over to keep away from Thanos.”

“I know that, Loki,” Bruce replied pleasantly. “But shouldn’t all of these planets be sending their warriors anyway? To stop Thanos from doing that?”

Loki shook his head. “That is not the way it works. Realms do not send their warriors merely because a madman _might_ do something evil. They send their armies because one of the High Seats of Asgard requested it.”

“That’s you?” Scott asked. “Is that like a high chair?”

“Jesus Christ,” Clint muttered, rubbing at his forehead.

Steve sighed at the lot of them. “Alright, let’s get back on track. What’s the plan for all of this?”

Loki shifted uncomfortably. “I regret to admit that while I excel in strategism, my skills lie further on the side of politics and quests that involve far fewer numbers than this. I have never been a warrior of great caliber.”

“Says the killer of Thor,” Carol muttered, shaking her head. Then she turned to Steve. “I’m basically a wrecking ball. I’ve taken out entire ships before. Whatever you need me to destroy, I’m there. And I’ll kill Thanos at the end of it.”

Steve nodded, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why don’t you come with us to Asgard, then? Asgard has training grounds warded for powerful, seidr- or Tesseract-enhanced fighters.” He looked at Loki. _Don’t think we’re not talking about that._

Loki rolled his eyes.

“Where are these great armies meant to wait?” T’Challa questioned. “Wakanda cannot house such a great number in such a short amount of time.”

Loki nodded. “Perhaps some can stay here? There is a great deal of property around the Facility.”

Tony sighed. “Yeah, we can probably work something out. Just for a few days, right? And there’s a few Power Enterprises warehouses that Stark Industries owns now, so once they’re cleared out, maybe a few of these barbarians or whoever can set up shop there.”

“Myself and the other sorcerers at Kamar-Taj will create portals on the eve of the battle,” Stephen offered. “There are also at least 100 sorcerers there willing to come to our aid.”

“Good,” Loki affirmed. “Even for Midgardian witches, your type of seidr seems to grant you a reasonable enough amount of power that would be helpful.”

“That was a compliment,” Clint whispered loudly to Stephen, who just shook his head.

“What about the Skrulls?” Loki asked of Carol, who thought about it and then shook her head.

“They are becoming acclimated to their new home,” she sighed. “I could ask Talos, and he would come, with perhaps a few of his closest warriors.”

“Anything helps,” Clint told her. Then he looked down the table at Fury and Coulson, who had snuck in during the meeting and were hovering near the door. “You two?”

“SHIELD numbers approximately 200 agents at the moment, with 50 of those being war-ready operatives. We’re willing to send all of them to the battleground,” Coulson told them. “The Avengers Initiative contains those in this room, along with Agents Hawkeye, Spider-man, and Wasp. I don’t think anyone is willing to stay out of this fight.”

“Good,” Steve replied shortly. “Where are they now?”

“Agents Hawkeye and Wasp are on mission, and Spider-man is...in school,” Fury said.

“School?” Sam asked. “How old is this kid?”

“Isn’t there an age limit on being an Avenger?” Scott piped up. “Like can he even drive?”

“You didn’t say what year of school,” Sam continued. “And when I saw him last, he was the only one of us wearing a mask. Is he in middle school? Still in diapers?”

“Agent Spider-man is 16,” Fury replied stiffly. “He takes his academic studies very seriously.”

“Which he should,” Tony interjected. “The kid needs as much help as he can get. We’ll call him in when we need him.”

“Alright,” Clint said before they could start arguing over whether or not 16 was too young to help save the universe. “We have twenty-some-odd Avengers.” He glanced at Loki, who nodded. “We’ll start putting together personal protection wards for everyone. It’ll probably take all of those couple months.” He wrote something down in his notebook and then slid it across the table to Sam, who read it and then sighed and didn’t say anything. “With Balder’s permission, we’ll bring down war and military strategists and tacticians from Asgard to talk with everyone about their strengths and weaknesses and start talking with Cap—both of them—about our plan.”

“Of course,” Balder agreed. “You do not even have to ask.”

“Technically, I do,” Clint reminded him, and then continued, “I’ll sit in on those meetings, offer what I can. I’m also compiling all of the information I have on Thanos, and Gamora and I will confer and try to develop a plan of attack.”

“We’re developing another prototype of ARISTOTLE and PLATO,” Bruce offered up. “We’re working with Asgardian seidrmadrs and the dwarf Eitri on making it more reliable and if we can figure out a way to actually break apart the illusions or if just alerting to their existence is enough.”

“What technology is this?” T’Challa queried.

“Thanos can create new realities with the Reality Stone, but it’s overlayed over what is actually real,” Bruce explained. “So the device, ARISTOTLE, can detect the illusion by detecting the amount of heat or the presence of seidr.”

T’Challa nodded. “If you send information on this device to Shuri, she will be able to help.”

“That’d be great!” Bruce exclaimed. “I didn’t even think about asking her. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“We’re here to figure out what to do next,” Steve told everyone. “Everyone is going to have a job. This is the biggest fight of our lives. Every single day between then and now counts, and everything we do matters. This is what we’ve been building towards, what everything before this has been about. Loki came to Earth to warn us about Thanos, and it’s time we listened to that warning. We’re going to win here, everyone, but it isn’t going to be easy. But we have to save the entire universe. So it’s going to be worth it.”

During Steve’s speech, Loki had slowly begun smiling. Balder noticed and asked him, “Brother, what will you do?”

“I am going to call an Idavollr,” Loki replied slyly, and Balder tipped his head back in delighted laughter.

“A what?” Scott asked, looking confusedly around the table.


	10. lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> coda to chapter 9.
> 
> warnings:  
> unintentional body modification, verbal humiliation, slut shaming, general nastiness, threesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Long(er) update on what's going to happen next for this series.](https://deluxemycroft.tumblr.com/post/616246445578878976/what-happens-next)
> 
> short update:
> 
> thank you to everyone who supported my breakdown/blowup/burnout in chapter nine. i've been having a rough go of it with this quarantine (as has everyone else, of course. hope you're all doing alright) and needed some time away. i posted an update to my tumblr that i linked above. if you don't want to read it, here's what's going to happen: everything is going to be posted. you're going to get about 4 more fics in this series. might be a little slower to post new fics but this series will be finished. you can probably expect about 2-300k more words of content. thanks again!
> 
> this chapter was originally going to be a standalone fic but i figured i'd toss it in the main fic for you fine, supportive folks. regular chapter postings will resume on april 25th.

Clint jerked awake as Sif gently set him down on his bed. “Where’m I?” he mumbled, twisting around and blearily recognizing his bedroom at his house. “Oh.”

“You’re home.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He looked up at her. “Why’d you bring me all the way up here?”

Sif raised an eyebrow at him. “Loki would’ve been rather displeased to learn I had left you to languish on the couch when you have a perfectly serviceable bed upstairs.”

Clint yawned as he considered that. She wasn’t wrong, but Loki was also the type who’d rather have Clint sleep on the couch or even on the floor just so he could be close if Loki needed him. He sighed and sagged back against the pillows. “Yeah, thanks. I appreciate it, Sif.” He paused uncomfortably for a moment. “Hey, before you go, I have a question.”

Sif nodded. “Of course.”

“Do you like me?”

She frowned at him. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t mean like, do you have a crush on me. I mean like, as a person. We all know you dislike Loki. But what about me?”

Sif regarded him carefully, something cautious in her jaw. Finally, she said, “I hold no animosity towards you. I hold you in high regard, and I believe that you hold a great deal of power in our lives, whether you recognize it or not. I am not fond of Loki, but I respect him, and therefore I must respect you.”

Huh. Well then. Clint didn’t really know what to say to that. 

Sif bowed her head and left, leaving Clint alone in the room. He shifted, a bit uncomfortable and warm, as he thought, and then he looked up to see Stephen entering the bedroom. 

Stephen changed quickly into sweats and a sweatshirt and then joined Clint in bed, sliding one long arm around his waist, pulling Clint’s back up against his chest. Low waves of arousal were beginning to hit Clint and he moaned, twisting his hips back, screwing his eyes shut. Stephen paused in asking Clint how it had gone on Asgard and instead said, “Do you need something?”

“Horny,” Clint gasped out. “Couldn’t block it out. Fuck.” He sat up, yanked off his shirt, and straddled Stephen’s hips, shivering as waves and waves of Loki’s arousal flooded him. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling Stephen’s erection against his pelvis and slowly began moving against it, lazily thrusting and twisting. Long fingers clenched down on his hips. 

Steve spit into Loki’s mouth and Clint let out the same whine Loki did, hands scrabbling forward, clenching into Stephen’s shirt, seidr flooding his veins, and God he just needed to be fucked, he needed to be filled up, he was so—

“Are you going to fuck him?” came Laura’s voice, and Clint whimpered and managed to open his eyes and reach out for her, desperate and wanting. She’d take care of him. She knew how to deal with him when he got like this, when all he could think about was a thick cock sliding deep inside him and splitting him in two and stretching him and—

“If he’ll stop squirming,” Stephen grit out. Laura walked up to the side of the bed, arms crossed, giving him a look like she was trying to convince herself to do a chore she hated.

“Little brat,” Laura remarked, almost fondly, and she reached out to tug down his pants. She paused. “Clint, where did your dick go?”

He looked down. “It’s gone?” Well then. Strange shit happened to him every day. Something _empty_ pulsed right in his core and he could feel himself getting _wet_ and oh god was this what it was like—

Laura hesitated for only a second and then reached forward and slid a finger inside of him. Clint gasped, hands scrabbling at Stephen’s shirt, hips pulsing, cunt clenching, and he threw his head back, gasping, “Oh God, oh God, oh God—”

“Has he done this before?” Stephen asked, twisting around so that he could pull Clint’s pants down his thighs. He was so hard beneath Clint that Clint could feel his dick throbbing. He could feel his pussy heat up and leak slick at the thought and he whimpered. Laura’s free hand pushed down on the small of his back and he arched out, feeling her fingers twist and slide in and out of him. 

“No,” Laura replied. “He would’ve told me if he knew he could do it.” Her thumb brushed over something that Clint realized in a haze was his clit and the rush of sensation made him feel like he was going to come apart. 

“I need—I need—” he blathered, gasping, and Stephen smirked at him, one hand pushing down his own pants to finally pull out his erection. Stephen had the loveliest cock Clint had ever seen. The first time he’d given the man a blowjob he’d just leaned his head on his thigh and lightly stroked his cock while staring at it in awe. He whimpered and his cunt clenched, and he shifted forward, gasping at feeling the way Laura’s fingers shoved even deeper inside of him. He needed a cock inside of him more than he needed to breathe. “Laura, please, I need it…”

“Cock slut,” she murmured fondly, and pulled her fingers out, lifting them to Clint’s mouth. He opened obediently and moaned at the taste of himself, suckling on her fingers as Stephen rubbed slick around the lips of his pussy and then around his clit. Clint gasped out and could feel his cunt _clench_ and his hips pulsed and then—

Something blunt and wide and thick pressed against his pussy. He gasped and tried to bore down on it immediately, trying to ease the ache, trying to finally fill the emptiness, but something stopped him. His eyes flew open and he looked down to see Laura holding Stephen’s cock in her hand, giving him an amused look. 

“He always wants to take it so fast,” Laura remarked to Stephen. “When I peg him, he never wants me to stretch him or use enough lube.”

“Laura, _please,_ ” he begged, trying to twist his hips in so he could pull Stephen’s cock just a little deeper in, soothe just some of the ache, he was so _wet_ and empty, he needed it so badly and he moaned at the thought. “I’m empty, I need it, I’m your cock slut, just _please._ ”

She sighed. Stephen’s hips twitched and his cock moved, just a bit, inside of Clint, and he gasped and whimpered and heat raced through him. “How are you going to pay me back? I was busy, you know. I don’t have time to deal with nasty little sluts.”

He tried to think of something but he was so hot and beyond needy that his mind felt like hot sludge. “Laura,” he begged, his voice sliding into a whimper.

“Maybe Stephen will fuck me instead,” she considered, and tugged on Stephen’s dick like she was going to pull it out of him. If she did that, Clint was going to _die._

“No,” he whined, cunt pulsing around the head of Stephen’s cock, and he looked down at the doctor, who looked horribly flushed and turned on, pupils blown wide, mouth open, chest heaving with restraint. “Stephen, I’m so empty, my cunt _needs_ you, I’m—”

Stephen’s hands on his hips tipped him forward, just an inch further onto his dick. Clint moaned, eyes rolling back in his head. Stephen took in a deep breath, centering himself. “You were right,” he told Laura, in a voice trying too hard to be casual, but Clint whimpered anyway. “He really is a slut.”

“Always has been, no matter how I try to get it out of him.” She tutted and shook her head disapprovingly. “I’m surprised he hasn’t made himself a pussy before this, you know. Do you think he deserves to be fucked?”

Stephen considered that. “No,” he finally decided, and Clint whimpered again, cunt clenching around the two inches of cock inside of him, heat shooting through his veins. “But I’m horny and any cunt is good enough when you’re horny. Even a useless, slutty one.”

“True,” Laura replied, looking back at Clint. “You think of something yet?”

“I’ll eat you out,” he tried desperately. “I’ll do anything. _Please._ ”

She sighed. “You were going to do that anyway,” she told him, and Clint nodded eagerly in agreement, trying to twist his hips. Laura lifted her hand from his back and spanked him hard once on the ass. He gasped and then blushed. “I’ll let him fuck you,” she said, “even though you don’t deserve it.”

Laura pulled her hand from Stephen’s dick and Clint didn’t even have to _do_ anything, he was so wet and sloppy and needy that his cock slipped right in. He moaned.

“Do you expect him to do all the work?” Laura asked sharply when all Clint did was moan and twitch his hips and whimper about how full he was. “You’re the one who wanted to be fucked so badly. Show him you’re grateful he even wanted to be in your disgusting cunt.”

He began to move, throwing his head back and staring sightlessly at the ceiling as Stephen’s cock slid out of him, inch by tortuous inch, and then when only the head was pressing up against the warm, fleshy lips of his cunt, he sagged back down, sobbing in relief as he was filled again. 

Beneath him, Stephen let out a deep, shuddering groan. His hips bucked up and his cock went even deeper, almost scratching the desperate itch deep inside Clint’s pussy, and Clint writhed on his cock, gasping out both of their names. 

Laura spanked him again and Clint began to move, desperately trying to make it good for Stephen, gasping at every new nerve ending and every new sensation and then the bed dipped and Clint turned his head to see his wife kneeling on the bed next to him, topless, breasts heaving. 

His mouth watered. 

“You want to be good for me?” Laura asked. Clint nodded eagerly, feeling slick slip down his thighs as he continued to fuck himself on Stephen’s beautiful cock. “Good boy.” She sat next to Stephen’s torso and pushed her chest out, and Clint could see a drop of milk glistening at the end of one of her nipples. He whimpered. “You know what to do.”

He leaned forward, groaning at how the angle changed the way Stephen’s cock felt inside of him, and desperately latched on, sucking down as Stephen filled him up. He tried to keep thrusting but Stephen finally decided to take over for him, holding Clint’s hips in place as he relentlessly fucked up into him, using him, making a home for himself in Clint’s desperate, wet cunt. 

Laura managed to reach a hand forward and began to pinch and swirl around his clit. Every motion brought him a wave of pleasure so hot and sharp that he choked around her milk, and she spanked him again when he stopped sucking. 

Laura moaned and then changed it into a bored sigh. “Is that all?” she asked of him, Clint moaning around the breast in his mouth. Then heat began to build from his clit and his cunt and he could feel Stephen so thick and stiff inside of him, so deep inside of him that Clint could feel it in his chest. Stephen pulled out of him and Laura dropped her hand from Clint’s clit to stop Stephen from pushing back in. “Kiss it,” Laura told him. “With your wet cunt. Kiss his cock. Show him you’re fucking grateful for doing anything for a useless bitch like you.”

Clint pulled his mouth off of her tit to hike his hips up. He moaned, rolling his head against her chest. He could feel himself _dripping_. His pussy felt empty, gaping, like there was a hollow inside of him and he knew Stephen could fill him back up. Slowly, he flexed his cunt and hovered his wet lips over the wide head of Stephen’s cock, and pulsed it around him, as close to a kiss as he could get.

Stephen broke. He twisted out from underneath Clint and shoved him down, hips and legs dangling over the side of the bed, wrapping his long hands around Clint’s thighs to shove them apart. He shoved inside Clint so hard and fast that all the breath was punched out of him. 

Fucking _finally._

Clint moaned loud enough to wake the dead as Stephen relentlessly fucked into him. Laura pinched at Clint until he lifted his head from her breasts and she scooted up until her wet cunt was in her face.

“Make yourself useful,” she told him, and pinched him until his mind was clear enough to put his mouth to work. She was so warm and wet and he moaned at her taste, the way his tongue slipped so easily inside, the way Stephen used him with no thought for his own pleasure, and finally, finally, heat soared through him, pleasure twisting his gut, and sparks shot through him and he came, Stephen moving so slickly inside of him, and the world went black.

He came back just a few seconds later, gasping against Laura’s pussy, her shoving his face away to finger herself as she rubbed at her clit and orgasmed. Stephen continued to fuck him, hips moving more and more erractically, his cock so hard and hot inside of Clint’s cunt that he moaned again, shivers of over-stimulation coursing through him. His cunt felt like a wet cavern that Stephen had set up camp in. He never wanted to be empty again. Maybe they could plug him up and he could feel like this all the time.

Fuck, he wouldn’t be able to get anything done. Just a pathetic cock slut—

Stephen came, nails digging into Clint’s hips, biting down on the back of Clint’s neck, and they both moaned. Laura pulled her fingers out of herself and Clint sucked them clean as she panted. Stephen fucked into a few more times as his cock softened, pulling his teeth out of Clint and straightening up, breathing hard.

Clint moaned lowly as Stephen pulled out, cunt gaping and he could feel cool air swirl around the slick drenching his lips and thighs.

“Can you carry him?” he heard Laura say, and Stephen replied in his deep voice, but Clint didn’t hear anything as he was suddenly up in the air. His head sagged forward and he wanted to be filled again, tried to move his hands to stuff them inside himself, but fingers caught around his wrists and stopped him.

“Laura,” he begged. “ _Please_. I’m empty.”

“Hush,” she murmured as he was set down into a cold tub. Warm water soon began sliding over his skin, Clint’s legs falling open, cunt pulsing. “I need you to come back to me, love.”

“You did so well,” Stephen told him and Clint opened his eyes, blinking up at the two of them. They were both next to the tub he was in, Stephen holding a glass of water to Clint’s mouth, Laura running warm water and a washcloth over him. “So good for us.”

Slowly, he came back to himself, sighing as the water around him warmed up. “Thank you,” he murmured to the both of them, sipping at the water and sighing as Laura cleaned him up. “Felt good. Want my dick back though.”

Green seidr bubbled over to him and there was a sudden, familiar weight between his thighs. He reached down and sighed at feeling the familiar weight of his dick and balls and no new holes. Thank fuckin’ God.

They cleaned him up and Clint leaned against Stephen as they went back to bed. Laura went to check on the kids and then joined them in bed, both of them on either side of him, Clint’s head buried in Stephen’s chest and Laura’s arms around his waist. “Told you I got horny,” he muttered to Stephen, who snorted in amusement, petting a hand down his side.

“Good boy,” Stephen murmured into his hair, Laura echoing the sentiment. Clint closed his eyes and smiled to himself as Laura removed his hearing aids for him. He was a lucky bastard.


	11. chapter ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idavollr.
> 
> A meeting between Gods.
> 
> What is to be done about Thanos?

There were few true neutral zones in any of the Nine Realms. However, there was a small, calm plane in between Niflheim and Svartalfheim that was essentially a massive, verdant field. It was one of the designated meeting places of the gods. They came together very rarely, usually sending members of their councils for any meetings, but in times of great need, they would meet.

Loki arrived first, Clint following soon after. They stood in the middle of the great field, Loki quickly casting a spell to make the air breathable for their guests, and Loki slowly turned, smiling as he looked around. He was dressed in as formal of regalia as he could manage: a layered and heavily embroidered green tunic with heavy gold and black pauldrons and wrist guards over a pair of dark green leather pants and tall black boots with gold accents. His cape was long, trailing on the ground behind him, and a lovely green that was almost the same color as the grass around them, with his rune stitched into the back up near his shoulders. His horned helm shone gold upon his head, and his nails were painted gold to complement it. His tunic was open at the neck to show off a hint of his collarbones.

Clint was wearing traditional warrior garb, with heavy black boots and black scaled pants, and his dark purple scaled tunic was open at the chest to show off Loki’s rune glowing on his breastbone. He carried the ruby-hilted knife on his belt and his Aesir bow and quiver on his back. He had a bag of holding on his waist that carried various potions and various scrolls of various agreements that they’d made with the leaders of the other Realms. He hung back as Loki began creating a massive circular table for the various leaders of the Realms to sit.

A portal opened behind him and Stephen stepped through, wearing his traditional blue tunic and black leggings and black boots of Kamar-Taj, his Cloak trailing elegantly behind him. He wore the Eye of Agamotto around his neck. He fiddled with his sling ring as he stepped up next to Clint.

“How goes it?”

“Well, no one has showed up yet, but there’s still time.”

“Hopefully no one shows up on time. No one shows up on time to a good party.”

“Wouldn’t know. Was never a big one for parties.”

“Really?” Stephen asked, slanting him an amused look. Clint shrugged helplessly. “You grew up in the _circus_. How were there not parties?”

“There were,” Clint informed him. “I just never went. The second I got a bow in my hand, I never put it down. That’s what they call dedication, babe.”

Stephen ducked his chin, high spots of color appearing on his cheeks.

_Stop flirting and come help me._

Clint gave Stephen a bright smile and moved over to Loki, who had created two different chairs and was trying to decide between them. _I don’t think_ you _can get after me for flirting. I saw you and Cap giving each other fuck-eyes during that meeting with the Avengers._

_Fuck-eyes?_

_Yeah, like you were thinking about fucking him._

_Oh, I understood the colloquialism. I was just reevaluating your current value in my life._

_Bet I went up!_ Clint looked between the two chairs. He pointed to the one in Loki’s left hand. _That one. The engraving on the other one looks like you’re trying too hard. Which you are. But they don’t need to know that._

Loki glanced between the two chairs and harrumphed, then vanished the engraved chair. Clint gave him a smug look. Loki created enough chairs for all of the gods to have a seat, as well as a few extras, and floated them over to sit around the table. Then he opened his pocket dimension and pulled out quite a few bottles of Asgardian wine to put around the table. _Food?_ he asked Clint.

_Yeah, I could eat._

Loki flicked him with a strand of seidr and then created another smaller table, pulling out various foodstuffs to fill it, including loaves of bread, meat roasts, Jotun fish, and even a couple pizzas just to throw everyone off their game.

Loki looked around and nodded, then took the potion Clint handed him, taking a long swallow as he tried to stop his hands from shaking. He was nervous, of course; who wouldn’t be? He joined Clint and Stephen, closing his pocket dimension and vanishing the potion vial. “You look hale and healthy,” Loki remarked to Stephen, glancing him over. “Is Clint keeping you well satisfied?”

“For the love of God,” Clint muttered, rubbing at his forehead.

“I’m not answering that,” Stephen sighed, looking around. “I’ve never been to another planet before.”

“This is not a planet,” Loki offered up, rather unhelpfully. “It is a minor plane between two realms.”

“Then I’ve never been to a _minor plane,_ ” Stephen snarked, bending down to run his shaking fingers over the grass. “Oh! It feels strange.”

“It’s not grass,” Clint told him, crouching next to him. “It’s _geilar,_ which means...well, it just means geilar. It’s kind of like roots, I think? Things grow upside down here. Everything grows under the dirt. Kinda gross, really.” He and Stephen helped each other to their feet and then stood next to each other, holding hands.

Loki rolled his eyes at the two of them and clasped his hands behind his back as he paced. He was nervous, of course, with the biggest cause of that being that he quite did not know what to expect. He had only read of what happened in an Idavollr and had never participated in one. He had faint memory of Odin calling one when he was young, but it was not something he would’ve been allowed to attend.

Balder had full faith in him, of course. It seemed he could do nothing to shake Balder’s faith in him. It made him want to try, made him want to run, made him want to ruin himself in Balder’s eyes. But Clint kept him from doing that, and Loki knew better than to listen to his old instincts. Perhaps he would play a trick on Balder when this was all over, however. He couldn’t become too predictable.

Clint sheepishly pulled away from Stephen and grabbed Loki’s arm, pulling him away from Stephen. _Which way do you want me to go here? Supportive or antagonizing?_

_Thought you went both ways,_ Loki muttered, tugging his arm out of Clint’s grasp. Clint rolled his eyes. _Just let me think, you brat._

_Folks are going to start arriving soon,_ Clint reminded him. _You need to hurt me or something? Been awhile since you did that, I’m gettin’ kind of antsy._

Loki paused in his pacing and turned to frown at Clint. _It has been awhile, hasn’t it? Why is that?_

_Your soul is finally calm since you got married,_ Clint offered up. _I also haven’t been as shitty as normal since my soul was all fucked up._

Loki considered that, one long finger tapping at his chin. _I did not even consider attempting to pull the sickness out of your soul with pain,_ he mused to himself, clasping his hands behind his back as he began to pace again. _After this, I will feed you potions._

_Aw, no personal touch?_

Loki stopped again, raising an eyebrow. _You really are getting bold, aren’t you? Little brat,_ he remarked fondly, shaking his head. He moved over and cupped Clint’s chin in his hands, tilting his head up so Loki could look over his face. _I have been worried about you,_ Loki murmured, gently petting Clint’s skin with the tips of his fingers. Clint’s eyes fluttered shut and he sagged into Loki’s grasp. _I suppose I have been so busy that I have lapsed in my care of you._

_No,_ Clint whispered. _I don’t need anything more than what you can give._

_Hush. It is not your place to tell me what you need. I know better than you. After we are done here, I will take you in hand. Perhaps a whipping spell. Or,_ here, Loki smiled nastily, _I will give you to the marshal in Asgard. Perhaps he could properly bring you to heel._

Clint stiffened up and glared at Loki, trying to pull back, but Loki’s hands slipped down and tightened around his neck, stopping him from doing anything. _You can’t give me to him,_ Clint replied, sagging again in Loki’s grasp as Loki’s hands tightened around his neck, cutting off his air. He didn’t technically need to breathe anymore but it was still habit and uncomfortable when he couldn’t. He could feel some tension seep out of his chest as Loki dug his fingers into his skin. _You said you wouldn’t._

_I am relatively well known for my lying._

_I can tell when you lie, you old bastard._

Loki smiled at that. _One could argue you are even older than I am, with all of your memories. Someone needs to hurt you. If I am too busy, then I will ask someone in my employ to do it. We both know your wife or your new paramour will not properly push you down until you are well trained again. But you have achieved your goal and I am distracted from my worry._ Loki dug his thumbs into Clint’s windpipe and watched greedily as Clint’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and he struggled in Loki’s grasp.

“Are you _choking_ him?” Stephen called over, a bit angry about the whole thing. Loki dropped his hands from Clint’s neck and watched him crumple to the ground, taking in heaving, gasping breaths.

“I am not now,” Loki replied, waiting until Clint stopped coughing and gasping to help the archer to his feet. Strangely enough, the place on Clint’s neck where Loki’s hands had been was turning a light green, just a shade darker than his skin, and Loki pulled him to his feet and leaned down to examine his neck.

_What is it?_

_I am going to have to do some research into this,_ Loki mused, straightening up and turning to look over his shoulder as the Bifrost opened and deposited Balder, Sif, and Steve. He called Steve over and the Captain took a look at Clint’s neck as well, as did Balder and Stephen.

“You think this has something to do with the runes?” Steve asked, pressing a kiss to Loki’s cheek after he’d looked at Clint’s neck. He was wearing a new uniform Tony and SHIELD had designed, with new fabric that was breathable and also bullet and knife resistant. It was dark blue with thin red and white stripes up the legs and arms, with thin white stripes running horizontal over his thighs, and heavier vertical red and white stripes on his stomach, underneath the white star on his chest. He wore custom brown leather fingerless gloves that had a small hole in his right palm so the Power Stone didn’t rub, and he had his helmet on a loop on his belt. His shield was on his back and Mjolnir hung off a specialized hook at his waist. 

Balder and Sif were both in traditional Asgardian formal wear, with Balder even having brushed down his beard and hair, a crown nestled in his wild curls. He poked at Clint’s neck. “Runes, you say?” Then he looked down Clint’s chest and stroked his beard. “Did you put some sort of protection ward on him?”

“Not recently,” Loki replied. “Could it be his seidr reacting to his new paramour?”

“Stop calling him that,” Clint grumbled. “It’s weird.”

“Oh?” Balder asked gleefully. “You have taken another to your bed, little Clint?” He looked around and his eyes landed on Stephen, who had hung back and was watching them all warily. “It is you, is it not? You snuck your way into the archer’s bed?” Balder moved around the small group and marched up to Stephen to clap him heavily on the back, Stephen nearly falling down. “I see you continue to spoil him,” Balder remarked back to Loki, who shrugged.

“Who he takes to his bed means nothing to me,” Loki remarked, pulling out a string of bright green seidr and wrapping it around Clint’s neck. It transformed into the golden snake Balder had given him, and Loki fiddled with it a couple times before it was sitting correctly. He gave Clint’s outfit a few gold accents to complement it. Stephen watched him warily as Loki dropped his hands from Clint and moved over to Steve. “King, do you see anything else that needs to be done?”

Balder patted Stephen on the back again and then walked over to the circular table, stretching out his own seidr to feel the spells Loki had put on everything. After a few moments, he shook his head. “Where is everyone seated?”

Loki pointed out seats and Balder moved a few of them—“Svartalfheim and Niflheim have been in trade discussions for nearly a decade, seat them next to each other”; “Yes, it would be funny to sit Jotunheim and Musphelheim next to each other but they would take it as a personal slight, put Alfheim between them”; “Hela was sent to Vanaheim after we were exiled and she still holds resentment towards the Realm, seat her next to Niflheim and put Midgard between her and Vanaheim”—and then Balder paused. “Who sits for Midgard?”

All of them sighed. Steve rubbed at his forehead. “There isn’t one governing body over the entire planet. There’s just too many people.”

“Yes,” Balder mused. “Humans do seem to breed like rats.”

“So we talked about it after you went back to Asgard to send out the missives for the Idavollr,” Steve continued. “There’s different countries with royalty, like T’Challa or the Queen of England”—Loki snorted and rolled his eyes—“but we couldn’t decide on who to ask, so Tony, Stephen, and I are going to be the seats. Loki explained it to me and I think the Avengers can kind of stand in for a reigning council, especially when we’re in the situation we’re in.”

Balder considered that. He turned to look at Stephen. “You are Stephen, then? Not just little Clint’s bedmate?”

“I am the Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the New York Sanctum,” Stephen said. “I am Dr. Strange.”

“You are very strange,” Balder replied. “And I do not know what the Sorcerer Supreme is, but if Loki believes you are powerful enough, then I suppose you can sit in the council.” He looked at Loki. “There may be some belief of compromised judgement on Steve’s part if he sits in for Midgard.”

“I considered that,” Loki affirmed. “And our marriage is well-known throughout the entire Nine. But he is a leader of the Avengers and his primary duty is to them. He also knows more of the politics of Asgard and can help Tony and Stephen, who would, for lack of a better term, be rather lost.”

Balder considered that and then nodded. “Very well,” he decided. “It will work.” With that, he asked Steve for permission to talk with Sif, and when he acquiesced, Balder pulled her away from the others and spoke with her in low tones.

The Bifrost opened again and out walked Tony, Carol, the Vision, and Bruce, and then a moment later, out came Byleistr and Balder’s two other advisors, Brige and Nold. Balder finished speaking with Sif and then greeted everyone, asking Steve why there were more humans and a robot.

Loki answered for him. “Part of the reason we have gathered is the Infinity Stones. We brought in the Keepers of each Stone.” He motioned to each one in turn. “Dr. Banner holds the Soul Stone, the Vision _is_ the Mind Stone, Dr. Strange has the Time Stone, and Steve has the Power Stone, while I have the Space Stone.” He gestured to Carol. “And the Captain has her powers from the Space Stone, as well.”

Balder just shook his head and joined his advisors. Steve grabbed Loki’s arm and Loki turned to look at him. _Why are you calling her that?_

_Pardon?_

Steve frowned at him. _Carol. You keep calling her Captain._

_Is she not? I thought that was her title._ Steve shifted and Loki slowly smiled at him. _Is my husband jealous that I have used his title on another?_

Steve slid his hand up from Loki’s arm to curl around the back of his neck. Loki smirked at him. _You’re being a brat,_ Steve murmured fondly, tipping Loki’s head down so he could kiss him. Loki smiled against his mouth and then opened for Steve, sliding his hands up to hook his fingers in Steve’s belt. Steve slid his tongue against Loki’s and swallowed down Loki’s slight moan before he pulled back. _You’re just calling her that to get a rise out of me._

_Oh, would I do such a thing?_ He tipped his head down to press their foreheads together, eyes fluttering shut. _We will begin soon._

Steve nodded slightly, dropping his hands down to wrap them around Loki’s trim waist. _Are you ready?_

_Am I ever not?_

Steve smiled and pulled back. _I’m looking forward to it._ He pulled away from Loki and turned around as Clint walked up to them. _You good?_

Clint nodded. _Yeah. Doc wanted to look at my neck._ He motioned to the green handprints underneath the snake. Steve waved him closer and Clint submitted to letting Steve look again. _Think we’re gonna have to have a talk with him later._

_We’ll figure it out after this is done,_ Steve decided, squeezing Clint’s shoulder before turning back to Loki, who was looking at both of them fondly. The look smoothed off his face as Sif came up to them, inclining her head to Loki. “What did Balder want from you?” Steve asked her.

Sif glanced back at Balder and then looked at Steve. “Perhaps we could discuss this later, Sire?”

Steve raised his eyebrows. “Everyone wants to talk about stuff later, huh,” he muttered, but nodded to her. Not much choice anyway, he figured. There wasn’t time for deliberating anything anyway, as the Bifrost opened again and aliens began to arrive.

Loki and Balder stood together, greeting everyone as they looked around and then Clint and Sif escorted everyone to their seats, doing the double duty of checking everyone over for hidden weapons and if they needed anything to drink or eat. Clint had the absolute pleasure of watching various members of royal houses and from other realms try to figure out how to eat pizza.

King Rene and Prince Natigus from Musphelheim.

Queen Aimta and Queen Uroz from Svartalfheim.

King Eagoc and Queen Iax from Alfheim.

Queen Hela from Helheim, along with her great wolf, Fenrir.

King Opiph and Queen Borea from Niflheim.

King Laufey and Prince Helblindi from Jotunheim.

King Utgon and King Quarev from Vanaheim.

King Balder and Prince Loki from Asgard.

Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, and Steve Rogers from Midgard.

Loki took his seat at Balder’s right hand after everyone else got settled. There was a smaller table in the center of the circular table where everyone had placed their weapons, and Loki handed his spear and his knives over to Clint, who was taking everyone’s weapons for the Idavollr. Balder pulled Stormbreaker off his back and handed the axe over as well, not at all surprised when Clint was able to pick it up. Once all of the various members of royalty had given over their weapons, Loki helped Clint over the table and then the Idavollr began.

To begin, Loki cast a temporary spell to last the length of the meeting to allow everyone to understand one another. Then, Clint opened one of Loki’s pocket dimensions and pulled out the Tesseract, handing it forward. Loki set it on the table in front of him. Across the table, where Steve, Stephen, and Tony sat, Bruce handed Steve the Soul Stone to set it on the table in front of them. Stephen cast a small spell around the Eye of Agamotto before setting it on the table as well. Steve set his right hand forward, palm up. The Vision came forward as well, standing in between Steve and Tony’s seats.

“Asgard calls this Idavollr to face a threat,” Loki started. “The threat is a Titan named Thanos who seeks to destroy half of all life.” He motioned to the Tesseract. “He seeks to do this with the Infinity Stones. We have five of them.”

Everyone burst into conversation. Loki calmly waited for everyone to calm down, which took a few minutes.

“A meeting like this is not meant to happen unless Ragnarok is a threat,” King Opiph blustered. He was short, as were all Nif, with blue fur so dark it was almost black, and unlike the other Nif they had seen on the realm, he had short tusks. “How do we know this Thanos is even real?”

“You send warriors to Midgard and yet do not even believe Thanos is real?” Loki queried.

Opiph glowered at him. “How do we know Thanos is the real threat and not you, Lie-smith?”

A few other royal seats nodded. A few of them were staring at Vision or at Steve’s hand.

“You killed Thor, after all,” Queen Borea added.

“If this Idavollr was agreed to merely cast aspersions on my Prince, then I will end it,” Balder declared. “This is not about Loki or whatever integrity you may think he has. This is about something that threatens all of us, all of the Nine, and Loki has been at the forefront of the battle to stop it. You will listen to me, and you will listen well: Thanos comes. He comes closer every day. Given the chance, he _will_ end half of all life. Everywhere. In the entire universe. That is our priority, not whatever issues you have with my Prince. I will not hear of it!” He pounded his fist on the table and thunder rumbled in the distance.

Slowly, all of the high seats began to nod. Opiph and Borea exchanged glances and then nodded as well. Balder looked around, meeting everyone’s gaze one by one. “Are you finished?” Loki asked him. Balder huffed and rolled his eyes. “Now, to continue. Prince Natigus has met Thanos, when he ventured with us to Vormir. What was your experience with the Titan, Prince?”

Natigus let out a small sigh of smoke. “He is fearsome. He is monstrous. He was, perhaps, one of the most terrifying beasts I have ever encountered.” His father, King Rene, let out a surprised burst of flame. “Loki told me the tale of Thanos, how he survived being left on an empty planet before escaping. He wields only the Reality Stone and was already a fearsome opponent before he used it.” He shifted uncomfortably.

Loki nodded. “We all know of Thanos’s history. The Nine came together before to defeat him. We must do it again.”

“If all of us could not kill him last time, what makes you believe you can do it now?” Queen Uroz questioned, clasping her long white fingers in front of her.

Loki’s mouth briefly turned down, and then he motioned to the Tesseract and the various Infinity Stones. “We have five of the six Infinity Stones,” Loki reminded her. “There is no reality in which Thanos wins. He cannot achieve his goal. He is furious with me and is headed to Midgard to battle us. This was intentional, of course, as he would have continued on his quest of unending destruction if I had not distracted him from it. He moves closer to Midgard every day. I call this Idavollr to inform the other High Seats of the Nine Realms that Asgard is going to war.”

“Against Thanos?” Queen Aimta asked. “You have already killed one of my Lieutenants in your crusade against Thanos. What’s to say you will not kill more?”

“I did not kill Algrim, Thor did,” Loki corrected, holding up a hand when Aimta and Uroz moved to speak. “Your Lieutenant was loyal to Thanos. His death was of his own making, and he broke the peace treaty between Asgard and Svartalfheim. Midgard is under Asgard’s protection and any action taken by a citizen of the Nine Realms against the Midgard is taken as an action against Asgard. You are aware of this, of course, and were made aware of his cause of death when his body was returned to you. If you wish to take your line of questioning further, I am willing to entertain it.”

Loki waited for a moment and neither Queen of Svartalfheim looked keen to continue, so he smiled a bit and continued himself, “All of you have already agreed to give your armies to Asgard for this war. We merely wished to give you assurances that you have correctly placed your faith in us.” He motioned again to the various Infinity Stones. “We will win.”

Laufey looked around the table and nodded. “Jotunheim has given allegiance to Asgard in this matter,” he decided, meeting Byleister’s gaze across the table. “I gave my youngest son to Balder as an advisor. We will support Asgard and give another 500 warriors for the battle. I have absolute faith that they will win. Jotunheim’s fate is tied to Asgard and I will not stand aside because of prior disagreements or wars with deceased Kings. They are dead, and for good reason. I take no issue with Loki or Balder and if anyone can kill a monster such as Thanos, it is Loki.”

Loki looked across the table at his birth father. Once upon a time, he would’ve been in Helblindi’s place at Laufey’s right hand. He would have been Prince to Jotunheim and would have spent his life around ice and snow and other frost giants. He looked to Steve and then back to Clint. Odin had done him so cruel by stealing him away, but perhaps he had done well with his fate. Perhaps he had done well with where he had ended up.

“Thank you,” Loki said simply, nodding to Laufey, meeting his dark blood red eyes. “Asgard accepts your pledge.”

One by one, the various royalty of the rest of the Nine Realms gave their pledge to Asgard. Finally, as Loki accepted Svartalfheim’s pledge, Hela spoke up.

“Thanos has haunted our steps for too long. He has sent too many to my realm.” She lifted a long, white hand and snapped her fingers, ghostly apparitions appearing in front of the weapons table. “Although they are not of the Nine, I have Thanos’s Children. His Black Order. I intend to complete this collection with the addition of Thanos’s soul.” She looked across the table at the Soul Stone and then waved her hand, the apparitions of Thanos’s Children vanishing. “I have no intention of watching Asgard lose this fight. Helheim gives allegiance to Asgard.”

“Thank you,” Loki replied with a nod. “Asgard accepts your pledge.”

With that, only Midgard was left. The High Seats all glanced uncomfortably at each other and then looked at the three of them, with Bruce, Vision, and Carol standing behind them.

“Midgard has no one govering body,” Steve offered up. “I was born on Midgard and I am one of the Captains of her armed forces. I am also one of the Avengers, a response team made up of exceptional individuals that are dedicated to protecting the Realm from threats both home and abroad. Our current duty is to protect Midgard from Thanos. I am the Keeper of the Power Stone and am also a wielder of Mjolnir. I cannot give Midgard’s allegiance to Asgard, but I can give the Avengers’ allegiance.”

“As can I,” Tony affirmed.

“I am Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the New York Sanctum. I cannot—”

“You are a sorcerer?” Queen Quarev interrupted. “What skills do you have?”

“I am powerful enough that Loki asked me here,” Stephen replied simply. “Do you wish for a demonstration?”

Quarev looked like she wanted to say yes but after a moment, shook her head. “All of us here are well aware of Loki’s skills in seidr, and have often been victim of those skills as well.” There was a bit of polite laughter. Loki smirked. “If he says you are talented enough, then I suppose we must believe him. But once this Idavollr ends, I expect a demonstration.” She looked to Loki and gave him a significant look. Loki inclined his head.

“I can assure you we would both be honored to oblige,” Loki drawled.

Stephen nodded in agreement. “As I was saying, I have the entirety of Earth’s Masters of the Mystic Arts behind me in this battle. For what it’s worth, Kamar-Taj and her people give their allegiance to Asgard in this battle.”

“And Asgard thanks you,” Loki returned. “Now, another purpose of the Idavollr was to ask for advice. From what each of you know of Thanos, what would your strategies be in battle?”

King Utgon let out an amused snort. “Loki asks for help? From us? This truly must be Ragnarok upon us.”

“We all know Vanaheim is not known for her warriors, only her barbarians,” Loki replied back snidely. “I asked the whole of the Nine, not Vanaheim. How many wars have you won, Utgon? I remember going into battle against your barbarians and merely having to cast a few spells and they all turned on one another.”

Utgon sat back in his chair and bared his sharp teeth but didn’t say anything. Next to him, his husband reached over to smooth his fingers down over Utgon’s long, pointed ears to calm him down.

_Sir,_ Clint murmured. _May I?_

Loki turned in his chair to frown at him. _You have no voice here and you know that. What on Midgard could you be thinking?_

_May I?_

_I should strike you for even the thought,_ Loki sighed, and turned back to face forward. _But very well. Do as you must._

“Thor brought all of this down on us,” Clint said, stepping forward to stand at Loki’s right hand, leaning up against the edge of the table. “All of this is his fault. He and Frigga worked for centuries to destroy every single thing you see before you. Asgard only still stands because of Loki. We have worked for years to fix everything Thor broke. He turned Asgard’s council against him, turned Loki into a mockery of himself, and even worked with Thanos.”

“For what end?” Rene questioned.

“We don’t know,” Clint sighed. “We have theories. We, uh, think Thor tried to kill Thanos and failed, and eventually decided to join with him instead.”

“I was at Thor’s crowning,” Queen Iax said. “You nearly married him in front of everyone.”

“Aye,” Loki agreed. “Thor threatened my life if I did not. It was one of the reasons I killed him.”

Everyone was silent for a few moments, and then Aimta tapped her long black nails on the table in front of her. “It is very untoward to allow a _hird_ to speak, especially at a meeting such as this, but you are very untoward yourself, Loki, so I will not hold it against you. My understanding is that Thor was very cruel to you and that you suffered. I, personally, was not fond of him in the few times I met him. I found him uncouth and improper. I was a Captain in our armies for many centuries before I married my dear Uroz. I formally offer my skills as a military and war tactician for this upcoming battle.”

“Thank you,” Steve spoke up. “Midgard appreciates your offer and any advice you can give us.”

Aimta smiled and then motioned lazily to Clint and then she picked up a chalice of wine and sipped at it. “You inspire great loyalty, Loki-Prince. I find it commendable. I have been to Midgard. Not recently, of course, but perhaps a few centuries ago. I was highly lauded and admired, but not a one of them would leave their homes or their lives for me.” She smiled at Clint and then reached up to stroke her long black fingers over the massive curled horns that came out of her head.

“I am very lucky,” Loki replied simply. “I have a husband and a personal guard whom I both care for very deeply, as well as friends that I hold tightly to my chest. But that is neither here nor there, Aimta. I appreciate your candor.” He decided to call for an intermission in the meeting and stood up, pulling Clint over to the table full of food and then away from the circular table.

Clint held Loki’s plate for him while Loki picked at the food and paced, muttering under his breath about witches. _She wanted to get under your skin,_ Clint offered up.

_Well she accomplished her goal!_ Loki exclaimed, barely stopping himself from digging his fingers into his hair and pulling it all out. _Distract me. How will we showcase Stephen’s skills at the end of all this?_

_Ask him? He’d probably know best._

Loki reached out and flicked Clint on the cheek. _You brat,_ he muttered fondly, turning as Steve and Tony walked up to them, Stephen bringing up the rear. “How fares it from your side of the table?” Loki asked a bit teasingly, smiling slightly at Steve as he brushed a kiss over Loki’s cheek. 

“You seem to be handling it well,” Steve replied. 

“I have absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Tony offered up, holding up the pizza he was eating. “But this has stayed the perfect temperature this entire time, so I’m pretty good.” He glanced around uncomfortably. “How much longer is this supposed to go on for?”

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “It takes as long as it takes,” he replied simply. “We are only an hour or two into it yet. We still have much more to discuss.”

“Wait, really?” Stephen interjected. “I kind of though we were getting close to done.”

Clint and Loki gave him identical frowns. “No,” Loki replied slowly. “We have treaties to determine, trade agreements to deliberate…” Loki trailed off with an amused smirk.

Stephen huffed. “How much longer?”

“Perhaps only a few more hours. A day at most.” With that, Loki turned to Clint and the two of them walked back to the circular table, Loki quickly taking his seat, Clint standing behind him. Balder came over from the food table with a plate that he handed to Clint, who glanced over it and then put it on the table for Loki. A few of the other high seats all gave each other significant looks as they watched Balder take his seat to Loki’s left.

Steve and Stephen walked back around to their own seats, Tony grabbing some more food and drink before joining them. They all sat back down but someone leaned over the back of Steve’s chair and grabbed his shoulder. Sif spun around and dug the point of her spear into Aimta’s chest, driving her back. “You do not touch him,” Sif warned lowly.

Steve pushed back to his feet, glancing over his shoulder at Loki and Mjolnir on the table. “You know better than that,” Steve remarked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m a Prince of Asgard. So, what do you want?”

“I merely wished to know what one such as Loki would find admirable in a Midgardian,” Aimta remarked, narrowing her eyes at him. She pushed ineffectively at the spear against her chest. “Call off your _bikkja._ ”

“No,” Steve replied simply. “Asgardian royalty isn’t to be touched without invitation. I’m sure it’s no different on your Realm.” He calmly met her gaze. “I’m Keeper of the Power Stone and a wielder of Mjolnir. Whatever you’re trying to do here, I won’t put up with it. I don’t play politics.”

“Interesting how Loki has his claws in two Realms,” Aimta mused slowly, apparently electing to ignore the spear. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stroked her long black hand over one of her curled horns. “Strange how he has so many humans following him around.” Slowly, she smiled, showing sharp teeth. “What kind of spell did he put on you?”

From nearby, Hela began to smile as Loki pushed to his feet, as did Balder. Fenrir paced slowly behind her, the energy of the altercation making him antsy.

“Our marriage bonds wouldn’t allow for any subversive spells or potions,” Steve informed her. “Which you would have known if you had accepted the invitation, of course.” He sighed. “Sif, pull back.” She nodded and lowered her spear, moving a few steps back, clearly still on edge. “Queen Aimta, whatever dissent you’re trying to spread here won’t work. If this is how you try to stir up a peace meeting, I don’t need to see your so-called military strategies.”

Her mouth fell open.

Steve nodded. “Don’t touch me,” he reminded her, and turned his back on her to sit back down. Sif stepped between them, spear at the ready.

“I’d advise you to sit back down,” Balder called, not bothering to hide his amusement. He looked around the Idavollr and the gathering of gods. “I would advise none of you to underestimate the humans. Loki does not surround himself with weakness.” He motioned to Clint, who was leaning against Loki’s chair, cleaning his nails with the ruby-hilted dagger. “If I had to choose any warrior to defend me out of any in the entire Nine Realms, I would choose this human. I am King of Asgard, Balder Allfather, and I tell you now: the humans are the reason we will win this war. They are powerful and intelligent and insightful. For all your discontent with him, you really believe my brother would surround himself with dullards? He would not last an hour.”

“Surprised I made it this long with you,” Loki muttered, reaching out and tugging on Balder’s arm to pull him back to his seat. “Are you done?”

Balder laughed at him and patted Loki’s hand. “Yes, my Prince, I am. You may call the Idavollr back to order.”

Loki nodded. He glanced at Clint, who tossed his dagger back onto the center table and then straightened up. “Loki of Asgard calls this Idavollr back to order,” he called. No one raised dissent, so he continued, “Asgard asks for advice on battle strategies and to hear formal pledges. Call into note that Midgard will not take Svartalfheim’s advisement into consideration on grounds of her impoliteness.”

Loki smirked at Aimta and Uroz, who both glared at him.

Clint spoke up. “Asgard asks for every willing body to offer their expertise in the matter. Midgard will start, as she is the one needing help, and Asgard will finish, as she is the one asking.”

Steve held up a hand when Tony tried to start talking first. “I’ll go first, then you,” Steve hissed, and when Clint made an aborted hand motion for him to stand, Steve pushed to his feet. “I am Steve Rogers of Midgard. I am also known as Captain America. I have enhanced intelligence, strength, senses, abilities, and healing over that of a regular human. My skills lie in battle.” He unflinchingly met Loki’s gaze. “It’s what I was created for: war. I am the ultimate soldier. While my skills lie—”

“What do you mean, created?” Iax interrupted. “I was under the impression that Midgardians breed.”

“Aye,” Steve agreed. “As we do. As far as I’m aware, we don’t have the ability to make people in labs.” He glanced at Tony and Bruce, who both shook their heads. “Oh. Well. Then I guess we can. But not me. I was injected with a serum that enhanced me beyond what was previously or currently considered humanly possible. Anyway, as I was saying, I excel in strategic thinking, especially in battle. But I shine best in smaller groups. The scale that we’re talking about for this battle is beyond anything I’ve dealt with before.” He paused and met Loki’s gaze again. “I’m going to be on the forefront of this battle. I’ll give it everything I’ve got. But I’m going to need help.”

With that, Steve sat down.

Tony sighed. “Always gotta show us all up,” he muttered good-naturedly, Steve snorting at him. Tony pushed to his feet. “I thought we already introduced ourselves, but I’ll do it again. Totally fine. I’m Tony—”

“You introduced yourselves as spokespeople for Midgard, not warriors and leaders of the Realm,” Loki interrupted. “It is very different.”

“Sure sounds like it. Now, I’m Tony Stark. I am Iron Man.” Tony held out a hand and snapped his fingers. A small square rose up from the weapons table and a bright light burst out of it as it unfolded into a bright crimson and gold Iron Man suit. “I designed and built this. This is the Mark XLIV. It’s made out of nanoparticles. It’s one of the most advanced pieces of technology on Earth.”

Hela let out a dramatic sigh. “Yes, you made some weaponized suit. Why did Loki ask you here?”

“As Balder said, Loki is very particular on who he surrounds himself with,” Helblindi spoke up. “Who are you to him?”

Tony let out a deep breath. “Loki doesn’t like me,” he finally grit out, looking around the table. “And I don’t particularly like him. But Steve and I respect each other. _That’s_ why I’m here. I’m here because I can help, because I am a brilliant inventor and defender of our planet.” He tapped the arc reactor in his chest. “This is why I’m here, same with the suit.”

“I think we will need another demonstration after the sorcerer’s,” Quarev spoke up. Tony frowned but nodded. He slowly sat back down after sending the Iron Man suit back into the box.

Stephen stood up next. He smoothed down his tunic and resettled the Cloak around his shoulders, then wryly said, “Looks like we’re a gathering of geniuses.” Across the table, Clint snorted. “My name is Dr. Stephen Strange. I am the most powerful Master of Mystic Arts on Earth, and therefore have the title of Sorcerer Supreme. This means I am the head of an organization called Kamar-Taj, which trains people in need and people who look to further their education. I have my medical degree and a Ph.D in neuroscience. I was world-renowned until I injured my hands beyond repair.” He looked down at his shaking hands and let out a short breath. “I am here because I can offer magical assistance. War is not something I am familiar with, not on any sort of scale. I have been in small battles but nothing like this.”

Stephen glanced around and then retook his seat, turning his head as the Vision walked up. “I am the Vision,” the robot said simply. “I am an amalgamation of a natural-language computer interface system and the Mind Stone.” He motioned to the Mind Stone in his forehead. Everyone around the table looked at each other.

“Who turned an Infinity Stone into a being?” Borea asked, aghast. Sheepishly, Tony raised a hand.

“This is ridiculous,” Utgon said. “Did you approve this, Loki? How could you let this happen?”

“I was not in favor of this,” Loki spoke up. “And I did attempt to stop it. You cannot hold me accountable for the actions of others, Utgon. Especially when those others are men such as Tony Stark.”

Tony rubbed his mouth to hide his smile.

“Can it be removed?” Borea questioned. She and Opiph exchanged glances. “Our scientists may be able to look.”

“We’ll look into it,” Loki assured her and then motioned for Vision to continue. The android nodded slowly and then looked around the circular table.

“I was created in a plan to defeat a great enemy. I aim to protect life, and Thanos aims to end it.” With that, Vision stepped back, motioning for Bruce to go next.

Bruce sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m Dr. Bruce Banner,” he said, waving uncomfortably with one hand. “I’m the Keeper-in-lieu of the Soul Stone.” He motioned to the Stone resting on the table in front of Steve. “I also have a medical degree and seven Ph.Ds. I also have a...condition that turns me into a big green monster called the Hulk.”

“May we have a demonstration?”

“No,” Loki interjected. “The Beast is too angry and may cause damage. Idavollr is a place of peace, not rage. Instead, I will show you with seidr.” He waved a hand and a duplicate of the Hulk appeared behind Bruce, who turned and looked up at the representation of his other half. The Hulk was a great beast, snarling and spewing spittle, clenching his fists and letting out a silent roar. Everyone let out quiet gasps of astonishment and Hela even stood up to give the duplicate an admiring look. With a wave of his hand, Loki vanished the duplicate and delicately cleared his throat. “The Beast is very destructive, but also very hardy. Bruce retains this same strength when he is in the form you see before you. This gives him the strength to wield the Soul Stone, and also, given that he is rather well educated, to study it.”

“Have you learned anything from it?” Natigus asked.

Bruce grimaced and then rubbed at his face. “Kind of,” he sighed. “I’ve been working with Kamar-Taj on their research of time and the Infinity Stone that they’re guardians of. I haven’t had any of the same problems that, uh, the Stone’s last Keeper had, so I think it’s in good hands. I also don’t entirely know how to use it yet, but I’m working on it.” He stepped back and smiled nervously at Carol, who was looking at all of them with faint annoyance.

“I am Captain Marvel,” she said, and a few of the royal members glanced significantly at each other. She motioned across the table to the Tesseract sitting in front of Loki. “Nearly 25 years ago, I worked with a Kree woman on Earth named Wendy Lawson who managed to harness the power of the Tesseract to create a light-speed engine that would help the Skrulls that the Kree had terrorized for so long. I destroyed the engine and was infused with powers from it and the Tesseract. After this, I was kidnapped by the Kree and had my memories erased. They turned me into a Kree-human hybrid by way of putting Kree blood in my veins. I have spent the past two decades destroying Hala and the Supreme Intelligence and helping the Skrulls come together and survive.

“I have heard of Thanos. I believed him to be a minor threat and had made some plans on hunting him down. However, I have now learned different.” Carol paused and lifted her chin. “I am here to kill him.”

Loki nodded. “Good,” he replied simply.

“You once fought against a Jotnar army,” Laufey said suddenly. He tapped his massive fingers on the edge of the table as he looked at her. “You can shoot blasts out of your hands and your eyes and hair light up.” He shook his head. “Jotunheim lost many soldiers to you. I will not send more warriors to die at your hand.”

Carol turned to look at him. “I remember that battle,” she replied quietly. “It was unfortunate.”

“You invaded a peaceful realm,” Laufey reminded her. “We had treaties with Nirgard. We farmed there and traded our fish for the crops. Your ceaseless mission collided with our farmers and we had to send warriors to defend them.” He shook his great head.

“When was this?” Balder asked gently.

“Nigh a decade ago,” Laufey informed him, clenching his hands in his lap. Helblindi reached over and patted his arm.

“We were looking for a home for the Skrulls and your farmers attacked.”

Laufey shook his head again. “Jotun farmers are peaceful. They do not know war. They would not have attacked if you did not strike fear into their hearts.” He looked at Loki. “Jotunheim will not fight with one such as her.”

Loki nodded. “Understandable.” Green eyes landed on Carol, who was glaring at Laufey. “Captain Danvers, what can you tell us of that battle?”

She cleared her throat, tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I was on a recon mission with Soren and Vonil. We found what looked like an abandoned planet and landed on it. Immediately, giants came with spears and began to attack our ship. We went on the offensive and I attacked, driving the giants back. They returned the next morning with warriors and attacked again. So I...drove them back. Forcefully. They ended up yielding after only a few days and I spoke to their leader while Soren and Vonil explored the planet and ultimately found it unsuitable for Skrull inhabitants. We left soon after that.”

Loki turned his head to exchange shocked looks with Clint. Around the table, various high seats shook their heads. Laufey and Helblindi exchanged sad looks with Byleistr. Balder let out a trembling breath.

“That is terrible,” the King replied. “You have done these Jotnar great disservice. You invaded a peaceful realm and caused them only pain. If Jotunheim and Asgard had been on better terms and I had been King, Jotunheim would have surely called for aid.” Laufey nodded. “I would have brought the full force of Asgard’s army down upon you. But what we are currently facing is more important than past troubles. I recommend that during your training on Asgard, you and I go to Jotunheim, where you will personally apologize to the giants there. Is that acceptable, King?”

Laufey sighed. “For now, it will be fine.”

Carol glowered at the lot of them but slowly nodded. “I will right my wrongs,” she finally vowed. “But first, I will kill Thanos.”

“Either order is fine with us,” Clint piped up. “Can we move on?”

Loki reached back and grabbed Clint’s ear and dragged him down until he was on his knees. “Stop being rude,” he ordered, Clint sighing and leaning his head against Loki’s thigh. “But yes, we must continue on. What skills do you bring to battle, Captain?”

Carol lifted a hand and shot a photon blast off into the distance. Immediately, a green seidr cage appeared around her and seidr bound her hands and legs and covered her mouth. Loki pushed to his feet and held up his hand. “This Idavollr is a place of peace,” he thundered. “You vowed to uphold this agreement of peace when you arrived. You are a guest of Midgard and her people.”

Beneath the seidr bonds, Carol’s hands began to glow, as did her eyes. Behind Loki, Clint slowly pushed to his feet, holding out a hand, the ruby-hilted dagger appearing in his palm.

“I will let this infraction go. I will release you. But let me tell you something, Captain Danvers: you may be powerful. You may be strong. But I am far more powerful than you realize. You may have powers from the Tesseract, but I wield it. Do _not_ test me.” With that, Loki raised a hand and snapped his fingers. The seidr cage and bonds disappeared. Loki retook his seat. “Oh, put that back on the table, you imp.” Clint rolled his eyes and the ruby-hilted dagger reappeared back on the weapons table. “Do you and I understand each other, Captain?”

“Yes,” Carol grit out.

“Good,” Loki replied. “Now, let us continue.”

They began with Muspelheim, who sat directly to Balder’s left. Rene let out a long jet of flame as he began. “I am King to Musphelheim, and this is my son. We are both decorated warriors. In fact, I defeated the previous King in battle many years ago and took his throne. I had a partner, but she succumbed to _hauga-brenna_ perhaps a century ago. Although I have long retired my axe, my skills lie primarily in one-on-one battle. I have my own tacticians and strategists for everything else. I do enjoy politics, however, which I suppose is a type of war.”

Natigus offered up, “I offer my skills as a Lieutenant in our army. Every member of our house has served in our military, but I am the only one who has made a life out of it.” Rene smiled proudly at his son. “I would gladly give that life to win this war.” Natigus looked between Loki and Steve and then slid across the table to stand in the center. He moved to go to one knee in front of Steve. “If Midgard calls for help, Musphelheim answers. You have my flame, Captain Rogers.”

Steve pushed to his feet and leaned across the table to put his right hand on Natigus’s shoulder, purple strands of power intertwining around the fire giant. “Thank you,” Steve said sincerely. “Please stand. There’s no reason to kneel.” Natigus stood, Steve’s hand sliding down to take one of his own massive ones. Their eyes met. “Midgard accepts your pledge and your loyalty. Thank you for giving me your son, King.”

King Rene blinked away fiery tears and stood up and gave Steve a short bow. Natigus slid across the table and joined Sif in standing behind Steve, who let out a stressed sigh and sat back down.

Loki and Clint exchanged glances. _Surprised he did that well,_ Clint muttered. _I know Sif has been giving him propriety lessons. He must really be taking them to heart._

_My husband is very smart,_ Loki replied smugly as Iax began to speak. _And Natigus is a very impressive warrior. I am glad Steve will have two powerful warriors behind him._

_I’m going to have another warrior over my knee if you two don’t focus,_ Steve interjected. Loki flushed and Clint rolled his eyes, but they both tuned into what Iax was saying.

“While Alfheim is not known for her warriors, we still have them. I have done extensive work with our seidrmadrs and am well renowned in our realm for my skills. This translates to our armies in that I am very well skilled in wards, both personal and for entire battalions. I offer this skill to Midgard.”

Steve nodded. “Midgard thanks you and accepts this skill.”

Eagoc had nothing to add, so they continued to Jotunheim.

“I have already given one son to Asgard,” Laufey began, motioning to Byleistr, who stood silent and stoic behind Balder. His old blood colored eyes flicked over Loki and then back to Steve. “I do not intend to give another to Midgard. However, we are a race of warriors. We are hardy and have survived trauma beyond measure. This makes us very tactful and perseverant. Along with the 2500 warriors we send, I will give Midgard our master strategists and our most talented seidrmadrs.”

“I will stay on Jotunheim,” Helblindi said. “But I will offer aid if needed.”

“Thank you,” Steve replied sincerely. “Midgard accepts your offer of aid, King Laufey.”

Laufey inclined his head and moved to sit back down, but then said, softly, “Loki, I am proud of you.”

“Thank you, King,” Loki replied just as gently, blinking in shock. He expected to feel something but there was nothing inside him other than shock and awe. Laufey may have been his birth father, but Loki did not know him. Perhaps he should change that. He would consider it once this was all over. Clint nudged him and Loki refocused his thoughts and looked to see Laufey sitting down and Utgon and Quarev both standing up.

They held hands as Quarev spoke. “We Vanir enjoy our worldly luxuries,” he began with a smirk. “However, our predilections towards the finer things do not mean we are not well versed in war. We are well known for our barbarians, and have offered 1000 of them, as well as 1000 warriors, for this war. I also make the offer of 10 of our greatest seidrmadrs.”

“I will also be going,” Utgon said. “I am the more accomplished warrior out of the both of us and it is only right for a King to lead his armies into battle. I will fight alongside Midgard and I will fight as the rest of them.”

“Thank you,” Steve said, and then glanced across the table to Loki and Balder. “I would like to offer for you to come train with the Einherjar.”

“I accept your offer,” Utgon replied, and both he and his husband retook their seats. They skipped over Midgard to Helheim, where Hela sighed dramatically and then pushed to her feet. Her quick black eyes moved over the gathered beings and she smiled, showing off her red mouth.

“Loki and I came to an agreement,” Hela began, and she motioned to the Soul Stone. “In return for the Soul Stone, I will give Midgard and Asgard the whole of my undead armies in this battle against Thanos. I agreed. I have nearly the entirety of the Valkyrie, many of Jotun’s army, Dwarven warriors, almost all of Thanos’s Children. I had thought I had all of them, but it turns out I was missing two.” She shot Loki a dark look. “I have armies that are unendingly vast and both horrifically monstrous and powerful.”

“The Soul Stone?” Balder repeating, turning to raise his bushy eyebrows at Loki. “Why would you give her the Stone?”

“I was very clear in that I offered up the _possibility_ of her wielding the Soul Stone,” Loki reminded her. “When we spoke last, I informed you that Clint was injured, and offered up the use of the Soul Stone after the battle. It would not be yours permanently, but it would be available for a limited number of uses.”

Hela frowned but quickly schooled the look of her face and smiled. “Helheim accepts,” she said with a bit of a simper, and sat back down.

Balder continued looking at Loki and then held up a hand to Borea and Opiph when they both made to stand up. “Do you know what this could wrought?” he hissed to Loki, quiet enough that no one else could hear them.

Loki grit his teeth. “Of course,” he muttered, throwing up an invisible silencing ward. “I also know that it was either giving her the Valkyrie or Clint in exchange for her armies. Do you really believe that we could go up against Thanos’s unending horde of mindless weaponized beasts without her? What on Midgard would that accomplish?” He muddled the ward so that no one could read his lips and leaned in closer. “I have also been looking into the properties of the Soul Stone. If it is not given to her from the current Keeper, it may not even work. Technically, Clint is the proper Keeper of the Stone, as he is the one who earned it from Vormir. He has allowed Bruce to use it. You truly believe that he would let Hela take it? He despises her. But I had no option other than to promise her _something._ ”

Balder gave him a slow, regarding look. “Tell the Doctor that he needs to look into repressing some of the abilities of the Soul Stone. See if it is even possible.” He reached out and tore down Loki’s silencing ward and then looked to Niflheim. “My apologies. My Prince and I merely needed to come to an agreement. Continue, please.”

Borea and Opiph both nodded and stood up on the seats of their chairs so that they were tall enough for everyone to see them. “Niflheim formally offers 500 warriors. We are smaller, in both size and population, than the other Realms, and 500 is more than two-thirds of our entire defense army. On top of that, I will offer many of our scientists, especially the ones who worked with Tony Stark on his last journey to Niflheim, as they believed our technology would work well with one of his strange suits.” Opiph looked around and nodded to Tony and then continued, “We also have a device that turns the air of other Realms into the mist that enshrouds Niflheim. If you can make a suitable copy, you may keep it and use it in this battle.” Tony nodded excitedly and Bruce leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

Borea and Opiph sat down. The only Realm remaining was Svartalfheim, who sat to Loki’s right. Loki looked across the table to his husband, who shook his head and said, “Midgard will hear Svartalfheim’s pledge.”

Both Queens stood up. Uroz spoke first. “I fear my wife spoke rashly,” she began, voice solemn. “Our pledge is still 1500 warriors. I cannot give more. But I wish to apologize to you, Captain Rogers.” She motioned to Mjolnir, sitting at the top of all the weapons on the table. “I see the hammer still survives, even though Thor does not, and I can only remember how many of my people’s lives it has taken.” Uroz looked around the table and met Laufey’s gaze. “That weapon is drenched with the blood of my people. Of all of our people. I find myself wary to pledge any amount of my elves to the human that wields it.”

Loki pushed to his feet and gently said, “For as long as I can remember, Mjolnir has been used as a weapon against me. I have spent entire years of my life held down by that hammer. Thor used to pin me to the floor and slowly push the breath out of my lungs until I passed out. He would bind me with chains to Mjolnir and leave me for weeks. I say this only because the hammer was not the cause of this pain. Thor was. Mjolnir is a weapon, and a weapon should not be the cause of grief after the one who misused it is dead. Because he is. Thor is gone. None of us will ever have to see him again. He was merely one in a long line of sacrifices to defeat Thanos. Do not fear that Steve will misuse the hammer. He only wields it because I believe him worthy, and if he ever does something that does not befit the wielder of Mjolnir, the hammer will fall from his hand and he will never be allowed to raise it again.” He sat back down and nodded for the Queens to continue.

Uroz clearly didn’t know what to say, so Aimta continued, “Thank you, Loki. I appreciate the transparency in your tumultuous relationship with Thor. We all heard the rumors, after all, and it was untoward of him to nearly marry you when he was crowned. I believe that Svartalfheim has given all we are capable of giving. I ask that our generals be given training with the Einherjar so that we can better work with Asgard in this war.”

Balder nodded and the Queens took their seats.

Steve and Tony stood up, Stephen copying them a moment later. “Midgard thanks you dearly for all of your pledges and all of your offerings,” Steve began. “Midgard has never dealt with threats like this. We have had a very small amount of extra-terrestrial encounters, but this is beyond anything out of any realm of possibilities. I know Midgard is very far behind other comparable realms in terms of our technology and out-of-realm travel, but we’re catching up, especially with people like Tony on the job. So, again, thank you. I appreciate it more than you can possibly know. I will personally meet every single one of your soldiers and you can consider that each of their lives are in my hands. I am the Captain of the army that will face Thanos, and when the day comes, when we face him on the plains of Wakanda, I will stand in front of all of them and I will tell them that I am going to fight just as hard and just as long as any of them. When your generals and soldiers come to train in Asgard with the Einherjar, I will be alongside them. I want you to know that because I am every bit of a warrior as any of the warriors you send to me. They will be in good hands. Thank you again.”

“You should do motivational speeches for a living,” Stephen muttered.

“He kind of does,” Tony replied lowly back with a smirk. Steve sighed at the both of them.

With that, the three of them sat down and attention turned to Loki and Balder.

They both pushed to their feet. Loki paused for a moment and then motioned for Clint to step forward as well. Clint leaned a hip against the front of the table so that he was also up against Loki. A bit of tension released from Loki’s shoulders at the contact. He looked around the Idavollr, at the various Kings and Queens that had pledged fealty to their cause to defeat Thanos. He flicked a hand and the Tesseract floated up into the air.

“The Tesseract is the first Infinity Stone I ever wielded. I have also made use of the Mind Stone, but only briefly. But the Tesseract is the only one I ever truly wanted. And now I have it, and I intend to use it for a very important and vital purpose: defeating Thanos and stopping him in his quest to erase half of all existence. We are working on dead-man spells for the rest of the Keepers, so that in the event one of them dies, it activates a spell that will be impossible to undo and will keep their respective Stone safe. I have also begun brewing healing potions with the simbelmyne flowers gathered from Ymir’s body, and they will be given out to the armies you give to us. Asgard wishes to thank you for your warriors and for your gifts. Midgard is under our protection and it is where Thanos is headed. So, again, thank you.”

Balder nodded. “We are all gathered here because this is the end times. Idavollr is meant to happen in the case of Ragnarok. This is more than Ragnarok. This would be the end of the galaxy. There is no where to go from here other than war.” He clapped Loki on the back. “Thank you, my brother, for what you have done for us. You have given me my rightful throne and have brought peace to the Nine Realms. An Idavollr of this caliber would have been impossible a mere five years ago when Odin was still on the throne.” The various high seats all nodded and Balder motioned with his free hand to them. “Thank you for this, Loki.”

Loki inclined his head and looked across the table to Steve, who smiled at him. “Thank you for having faith in me,” Loki responded softly, both to Balder and to Steve. Then he cleared his throat. “If there is nothing else to be explored, I will be calling an end to this Idavollr.”

No one raised dissent and Loki brought a hand down to hit the table, sending out a tremble of seidr that formally closed the meeting. Clint immediately slid across the table to pick up his dagger and his bow and quiver. He made sure his weapons were okay and then sheepishly handed Loki his spear. Steve stepped up next to him after picking up his shield and hanging Mjolnir off his belt and slid a hand across the back of Clint’s neck, pulling him in close.

_What the hell do I do with a fire giant?_ Steve asked sheepishly. _Did I even do that right? I told Sif to hit me in the back of the head if I did something wrong, and she never did, so I figured I wasn’t embarrassing Loki too much._

Clint snorted at him. _You could’ve stripped naked in front of everyone and Sif wouldn’t have hit you._ He considered that. _Actually, I think you should do that. Give everyone something to talk about when they go back to their realms._ Clint shrugged. _Also, don’t be worried about embarrassing Loki. You can just leave that to me. All he cares about is that you try. Hell, you just disinvited Aimta from helping all because she insulted Loki. Do you know the things that elf is capable of? Do you know how many wars she’s won?_ Clint shook his head. _Trust me, embarrassment is the furthest thing from Loki’s mind._

“Are we still going to get a demonstration?” Quarev asked the group at large. Steve and Clint turned to see Loki and Stephen talking quietly to one another, and the two of them turned and nodded. Clint hopped up on the table and crossed his legs underneath himself, leaning against Steve as the captain sat next to him. Sif and Natigus came around the table to stand near them.

Loki removed his helm and his formal cape, seidr sliding over his arms to change his formal armor into something more practical. Then he smiled at Stephen and flicked him across the face with a bit of seidr. Stephen gave him an amused look and slid on his sling ring and then took a ready position. 

Loki had always moved unnaturally. Clint had always likened him to water flowing in a stream. But he was powerful, almost frightfully so, and used his inhuman grace to his advantage. Stephen was graceful as well, and he didn’t have the centuries of experience Loki did, but he was smart and, honestly, imaginative in a way that Loki didn’t quite have anymore. Not that Clint would ever say that or even be caught thinking it. But he thought the two of them were fairly evenly matched. Unless, of course, Stephen dropped Loki through a never ending hole, or Loki tossed Stephen into another dimension or kicked him off a planet. 

Loki was well known through the Nine for his skills in seidr. He was the most powerful seidrmadr alive and had tutored under Frigga, who, for all her faults, had been extremely powerful herself and astonishingly well read. After all, it took a seidrkonr of incredible ability to cast the kind of spells she had made to even make it possible for Thor to drag Loki through as many repetitions as he did. Loki inclined his head and tapped his staff on the ground. An echo of seidr went out and then came back, and underneath, the ground rumbled. Stephen looked around with a frown as the seidr echoed off and then began to come back, and then the ground cracked in a circle around him. The ground heaved and lifted up, sending Stephen up into the air, and Loki walked on the air around him, clasping his hands behind his back.

Stephen snapped his hands together and drew apart a long orange seidr sword that seemed to move constantly, bits of seidr flicking off it as he moved it. He drew a seidr circle around the ground around him and then pushed down on it, creating a platform that stopped the ground from rising up any further. His Cloak fluttered and he floated up into the air. 

“Is that all you got?” Stephen asked. “Move the ground a little and—”

“This is _your_ demonstration,” Loki interrupted with a pointed look. “Everyone here is already well aware of my capabilities. Do you wish for a fight, witch? Because I will give you one.”

Stephen drew the sword through the air and nodded. “Give me all you got.”

Down on the ground, Clint groaned and turned back to the table to grab a jug of wine.

Loki smiled slowly and darkly, showing his long teeth. He raised up one hand and snapped his fingers. He vanished and as Stephen was casting a detecting spell, a dozen duplicates of Loki appeared around him, all laughing at him. Stephen struck out at the nearest one and his seidr sword went straight through it, the duplicate vanishing. He moved his hands and a long whip replaced the sword, and he spun around, disintegrating the duplicates.

“Almost impressive,” came Loki’s smooth voice in his ear. Stephen spun around to find that there was no one behind him, but he snapped the orange seidr whip through the air anyway. It didn’t come into contact with anything. Then as Stephen slowly turned, Cloak fluttering behind him, Loki’s eyes and smiling mouth appeared in front of him. “Is that all you got?” Loki repeated mockingly, and his eyes and mouth vanished.

“I know what you’re doing,” Stephen hissed, whipping the air in a circle around him again. “You’re trying to throw me off balance so that all I can do is go on the defense. I won’t let you.”

“Won’t _let_ me?” Loki returned slyly, and he snapped his fingers, a small burst of green seidr fluttering up. Stephen narrowed his eyes at the green sparkles but didn’t take the bait.

Stephen drew up a hand and then brought it back down like he was unzipping a coat. He pushed his hand inside and then moved forward, entering the mirror dimension. It gave him a way to see past Loki’s invisibility spell, but Stephen wasn’t expecting that Loki would know how to close the dimension behind him and lock him in.

Frustrated and with no way out, Stephen began to attack the mirror dimension while Loki reappeared and shook his head, floating down to the ground. “Perhaps he was not as powerful as I had believed,” he said, shaking his head shamefully. “What a true pity.”

Quarev shook her head. “Underhanded as always,” she muttered.

Loki turned to raise an eyebrow at her. “What exactly were you expecting from me?” he questioned, lazily waving a hand and Stephen fell out of the mirror dimension, his Cloak catching him and raising him back up in the air. “Be someone other than who I am?”

“Perhaps someone better,” she grumbled.

“Oh, there’s no fun in that,” Loki smiled, and stepped back up into the air to walk back up to Stephen. “Whatever you are capable of, Stephen, I mastered when I was barely a few centuries old. Your seidr may be different from mine but it is nothing I cannot defeat. Now, would you like to show these fine folks what you are truly capable of?”

“I’m not your plaything,” Stephen spat out, gritting his teeth. “Face me and _fight_ me. No tricks, no schemes, just a demonstration of both of our skills.” He floated closer and motioned to Steve and the rest of everyone looking up at them. “How are you supposed to earn their trust when you can’t even fight fairly?”

Loki brought his legs up so that they were crossed underneath himself and he rested one hand on his palm as he considered that. “I feel like you are still under the impression that I have anything I need to prove to anyone,” Loki finally said. “I have made it this far being no one other than myself, have I not?”

Stephen merely shook his head. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Let us start.”

Loki straightened up and he smiled, conjuring balls of seidr fire in his palms. “Let us dance, witch.”

“Stop fucking calling me that,” Stephen snarled, and with one quick motion, he created a portal behind Loki and his Cloak lifted from his shoulders to kick the god into it. The portal closed behind Loki and the Cloak caught Stephen on his way to the ground, gently setting him down. 

Stephen looked around the gathered royalty and the Avengers and hid his wince. Steve just shook his head. Clint looked up from where he was dipping pizza into a wine jug and called out, “You’re gonna regret that!”

“Am I?” Stephen queried, and then a moment later, Loki clawed his way out, glaring and spitting, and Stephen shot another portal at him, but Loki slashed through it with a great seidr blade and advanced on him. Stephen faced him and threw everything he had at Loki: seidr chains to bind him, ropes to wrap around him, portals and other dimensions, illusions, even using his astral form, and casting all the spells he could think of. Loki was undeterred, his own seidr breaking through everything Stephen threw at him. 

Loki held out his hand and his staff appeared in his palm. “I don’t see you dancing,” he remarked snidely, and hit the end of his staff on the ground. A great shaking began to overtake Stephen’s legs as he frantically worked to detangle the spell. It took only a few moments and then he was attacking again, Loki effortlessly throwing off Stephen’s strongest spells. 

Stephen took a deep breath and then froze as something struck him in the back. He crumpled down to the ground as a potion swarmed through his bloodstream faster than he could magic it away. Loki landed next to him and pulled the arrow out of his back, twirling it in his fingers. He burned the potion out of Stephen with a brush of his fingers and then healed the small wound with a careless wave of his hand. “You must be more stringent with your rules,” Loki remarked with a sneer. “After all, you never said no cheating.”

“That’s a common rule that shouldn’t have to be explained,” Stephen grumbled, taking Steve’s hand when the Captain came over and offered it. Steve hauled him to his feet and helped Stephen dust himself off before turning him towards the gathered gods behind him. 

Loki shrugged. “Rules don’t matter in battle, Dr. Strange. All that matters is winning, and I seem to have done that.” He tossed his hair over his shoulder and made his way over to the food table, Clint joining him. 

A few of the gods were giving Stephen impressed looks. Finally, Quarev spoke up, albeit a bit grudgingly. “Impressive. Not many can hold their ground against one such as Loki.”

“Nearly all of us have gone against Loki in battle at one time or another,” Utgon added in, taking his wife’s hand. “Even when he was young, he was an insurmountable seidrmadr. You held your ground well, witch. You are plenty powerful in your own right.”

Balder came up and patted Stephen heavily on the back. “My brother is many things, but a fair fighter he is not. Do not feel ashamed because of your loss. It is very hard to beat Loki in battle.”

Stephen met Loki’s eyes across the gathering. He’d see about that. Now that he’d gotten a taste for Loki’s fighting style, he thought he had a better chance for next time. 

Loki winked at him and went back to eating raw fish and trying to bully Clint into eating fish scales. Stephen shook his head at them and turned his attention to Tony demonstrating his suit. Steve made his way over to Loki and just fondly shook his head at him. 

_You didn’t have to do that, you know._

_Oh, what fun is it otherwise?_ Loki smiled at him and pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. _Now, fish scales are a delicacy on Asgard—_

_I’m sure they are, and I have a rainbow bridge to sell you._


	12. chapter eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A matter is resolved. Something is wrong with Clint. Steve makes some changes.

Barney Barton was watching TV and eating a microwaved meal when the lights flickered. He frowned and looked up at the overhead light. If the damn power went out again, he was going to call the power company and have a long talk about having to pay his bill when there wasn’t even power on in the damn—

The sound from the TV went away and he looked back down to see someone standing in front of it. He blinked a couple times before recognizing his brother. “Clint?” he asked. “What the hell—how did you get in here?”

Clint shrugged. Before he could say anything, long, cold fingers settled on Barney’s shoulder and he turned his head to look up at Loki. Oh, fuck. “I didn’t do anything,” Barney blustered, and then froze in fear as Loki’s mouth curled up in a smile.

The world went dark.

* * *

Clint was sitting next to Barney’s bed, reading a book, when his brother finally woke up a few hours later. “Finally,” Clint grumbled. “Took you long enough, Barn.”

“What the fuck,” Barney grumbled, slapping Clint’s hands away when Clint tried to help him sit up. He held his head in his hands and groaned. “Did he hit me with a fucking _train?_ ”

“No,” Clint snorted. “Just a spell. You’ll probably wish it was a train after he’s done with you, though.”

Barney glowered at him. “I didn’t _do_ anything,” he repeated, and swung his legs out of bed. “Why are you here?”

“Loki wants to talk to you,” Clint replied with a shrug, standing up and sending his book into a pocket dimension. “Why don’t you come downstairs?”

“It’s my fuckin’ house,” Barney grumbled as he followed Clint back down to the kitchen. Loki was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and looking at his phone. He didn’t acknowledge either of them as Clint pushed Barney to sit down and then got him a coffee and a glass of water. Clint took the seat next to Loki and knocked their knees together. Loki handed Clint his phone back and then looked down the table at Barney. “What?”

“You would be wise to treat me in a more respectful manner,” Loki advised, his tone a bit too pleasant, setting Barney’s teeth on edge. “Now, you and I have much to discuss, Barney Barton. Do you remember what I told you last year?”

“Yeah,” Barney grumbled, annoyed. “Leave Clint alone or you’d cut out my eyes and turn them invisible and spell them that so they were always watching me but I’d never be able to find them.” He shuddered.

Clint snorted. _And Stephen thought he could beat you. Guy could never come up with shit like that._

“And?” Loki prompted.

“And?” Barney repeated incredulously. “I haven’t talked to him at all since then.” He motioned to a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. “Hell, Clint, there’s a safe in there. I’ll give you some of your money back.”

Clint shrugged. “I don’t care about that,” he replied. “What I care about is the Swordsman.”

Barney snorted. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking—”

As fast as a snake, Loki reached across the table and pressed his hand to Barney’s forehead. Barney’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and he slumped forward. Clint rolled his eyes and got up to root through the fridge. He grabbed a beer and after glancing at Loki, drank half of it, then picked up a take-out container and sniffed at it. It didn’t smell too bad, so he tossed it in the microwave and went over to the cabinet with the safe it in. A bit of seidr and the safe door unlocked and swung open. He dug through it and pulled out a few bundles of cash. Probably 50 grand or so. There was also the title to the shitty car out front, and a few other pieces of paperwork that didn’t really look important enough to be in a safe.

Clint shut the safe and got his food out of the microwave, finished the beer and crushed the can, then sat back down at the table. Loki dropped out of Barney’s mind a minute later and shook his head disapprovingly. Then he sniffed the air and shot the food in Clint’s hand a dark look. “That smells disgusting,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose. Clint shrugged and shoved a particularly large forkful into his mouth. “You were right. Your brother was working with the Swordsman to get money and leverage on you. Despicable.”

Clint choked down another mouthful and then said, “Doesn’t really surprise me.” He shrugged and motioned with his fork to Barney, who Loki had put into temporary stasis. “What’re you gonna do with him?”

Loki frowned. “He is your brother,” he finally decided. “It is your decision.”

Clint groaned and laid his head on the table. “Thought your whole thing was making decisions like this for me,” he whined. “The eye thing was kind of funny.”

Loki shrugged. “Take your time and think of something,” he advised. “While you decide, I will speak with T’Challa, as I told him I would inform him of what happened at the Idavollr. Then we will go find this Swordsman.”

Clint sighed and handed over his phone and then finished eating while Loki talked quietly in the living room. He decided he deserved another beer and threw his trash away and got a can out of the fridge, leaning against the counter as he drank it.

Ugh.

He didn’t know what kind of weird punishment Loki would be okay with. Clint wasn’t the imaginative sort. _What about just taking all his limbs off and reattaching them a bunch of times? Bet that’d make a guy go crazy._

_That is something you do to an ant, not your brother that worked with a criminal who effectively weaponized a child. Do better._

Clint groaned. _Alright, why did you come up with the eye thing? Just so I can figure out where you’re coming from._

_Barney acted selfishly and thought of only himself. He used you, his only remaining family, for what? Money? Fame? No particular reason at all, really. So, ergo, he lost the privilege of sight, and it will now be used against him._

God, what a fucked up weirdo. Clint sighed. Alright. _Alright. So, you just want me to come up with something like that._

_I wish for you to come up with something suitable._

With that, Loki tuned him out and turned back to his conversation. Clint groaned again. Maybe if he complained enough, Loki would take pity on him. First time for everything.

He sat back down at the kitchen table and thought about what he knew about his brother. Barney had been one of the best marksmen Clint had ever known, but he’d never been quite as good as Clint. Clint had always been just that little bit quicker, a little faster, a little more accurate. Barney had been the one stealing with the Swordsman and Trick Shot; Clint had never really bowed on his principles and had never done that. He’d stolen from people, but not from people who couldn’t afford it. He’d never steal from the people Barney and all of them had stolen from. Clint rubbed at his chin as he thought. 

Loki had essentially humiliated Stephen in front of a bunch of powerful aliens, mostly just because he could. He didn’t have to do that, but he did it anyway. Stephen was always so arrogant and confident in himself and Loki always enjoyed taking people down a peg. Clint wasn’t really like that. He understood it, sometimes even thought it was kind of funny, but he didn’t have the insecurity or whatever it was that made Loki enjoy seeing other people fall.

He thought about Loki threatening Bucky, a man terrified of losing any part of himself, with forcing him to kill Clint. He thought about Loki doing that and Bucky choosing to go with Loki when Thor came for him anyway. He thought about Loki quietly changing the wards on Clint’s home so that Bucky would always be allowed in and then never telling him about it.

He thought about Loki’s wedding gift, a tradition unheard of in Asgard, being the gift of Steve’s friends.

It wasn’t about Barney trying to work with someone who had hurt Clint in the past. It was about Barney betraying Clint and not putting him first. It was about loyalty.

Clint rubbed at his chin as he thought. _Alright,_ he finally said, once Loki ended the phone call and was curiously looking through Barney’s recorded TV shows, _I have two ideas._

Loki came into the kitchen and leaned against the doorjamb, crossing his arms over his chest. He smiled. _Let me hear them._

* * *

“Barnes, hey,” Clint greeted as he tapped on the door to Bucky’s room at his house. Bucky looked up from his book and waved uncomfortably at Clint. “You mind coming downstairs for a few minutes?”

“Why?” Bucky asked, already getting up and putting his book down. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that.” Clint led him down to the kitchen, where Loki was sitting at the table, picking at some strange food on a plate. There was a man who Bucky didn’t recongize but still looked kind of familiar sitting across the table from him, hands cuffed in seidr bonds, looking a bit pissed off. Bucky paused in the doorway. “Buck, this is Barney, my brother.”

Bucky waved uncomfortably. Barney glared at him. “What’s he doing here?” Bucky asked, looking at Loki, who motioned him closer. Bucky shook his head. “No, sir, I’m good.”

“Do you know what this man did?” Loki asked, taking a delicate bite from what looked like bread slathered in butter. Bucky shook his head. “I would hope that you are aware of my affection for Clint,” Loki continued, seemingly uncaring that anyone was really listening to him. Bucky rolled his eyes. Yeah, he was fuckin’ aware. “Previously, Barney came here and manipulated Clint into giving him money. Clint was punished for this transgression, of course, and I believed the matter resolved. However, a few months ago, Clint began receiving letters from a person who called themselves the Swordsman.”

“Oh yeah,” Bucky said faintly, remembering going outside one morning and seeing a letter slid under the door. “He did that?”

Clint settled down next to Loki, leaning in and opening his mouth. Loki set a piece of bread on his tongue and Clint grinned at him. “He sure did,” Clint replied easily. He reached into the air around him and pulled out a cell phone that looked older than Bucky himself. “So, Barney has been gambling away money for years. Ever since we were kids. He went to jail for it a few times when he couldn’t pay someone and ended up robbing some store or whatever to try and get it, or got the shit beat out of him or what-have-you. Turns out, he’s still doing that. He ended up owing money to a guy who knows a guy who knows one of the guys who trained us when we were kids in the circus.”

“Still can’t believe you were in the _circus,_ ” Bucky muttered with a snort.

“Laura can,” Clint said with a lascivious wink. Bucky rolled his eyes. “Anyway, word got back to the Swordsman, who had apparently been following my illustrious career in the news. Loki isn’t in the news very often, mostly because he puts a ward on himself that makes it hard for cameras to get good pictures of him, and the Swordsman found out that there’s some publications that will pay _a lot_ of money for a picture of him. He told Barney that if he got a few pictures of Loki, that he’d pay his debt for him.” Clint held up the ancient cell phone. “There’s two numbers in this phone. One is Natasha’s. The other is someone called Pat Iridian.”

Loki looked up from his food with a frown. “That name sounds somewhat familiar.”

“When you brainwashed me in Life One, he was one of the mercenaries also under your control. Alongside being a soldier of fortune, he also specializes in creating new identities. I remembered him a few years before you came to Earth, tracked him down, found out he was doing the same job. I paid him 100 grand in advance in case I ever needed his services. Telling you this because I did this in case the Swordsman ever found me again.” Clint motioned to Barney. “When we were in the circus, there was a whole embezzling scheme under the surface. They were also stealing from the customers. I couldn’t abide by any of it and was going to turn them in to the cops and they ended up beating the shit out of me and leaving me for dead.”

“Your brother did that?” Bucky asked, stunned.

Clint shrugged. “Yeah, he’s kind of a bastard. Anyway, Laura found me, dragged me to the hospital. She convinced me to leave the circus and she and I moved out to stay with her parents. During that time, SHIELD found out about me and recruited me. Well, kind of. That’s a long story. Anyway, Barney stayed away during most of that. But every now and then, he’d pop up, we’d argue and it’d end in a fistfight and he’d disappear for another couple years. He tried getting some fame as the brother of Hawkeye but it never really worked out for him.”

“You don’t even have any fame and you were Hawkeye,” Bucky interjected, leading to both Loki and Barney snorting in amusement.

“Hey!”

Bucky made a show of pulling out his Starkphone. “You want me to look up how much more popular Hawkeye is now that it’s Kate instead of you?”

“Okay, fair, she does deserve it, though,” Clint pointed out. “She’s awesome.”

Bucky shrugged. “Sam likes her,” he muttered, and fiddled uncomfortably with his Starkphone for a minute. Clint glanced at Loki and then frowned at Bucky.

“You alright, man?”

Bucky sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” He motioned to Barney. “So, what’s he here for? You know I don’t really care about his whole life story.”

Clint nodded. “I had two ideas for his punishment, I guess. Loki isn’t going to let him just get away with being a bastard.”

“Loki is a bastard all the time,” Bucky interjected.

Clint waved a hand but he chuckled. “Yeah, but only Loki can be a bastard. Everyone else has to act right or he gets all stuck up. Anyway, you’re part of one of these ideas, which is why we brought you down here.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed. “Alright,” he said slowly, glancing between Clint and Barney.

“I’m offering Barney to you as a bodyguard of sorts.” Before Bucky could say anything, Clint held up a hand to stop him. “I figured you wouldn’t want it, but just hear me out. You’re in kind of a precarious situation right now, and we’re on the edge of a huge, war-ending battle. The kind of war that takes down planets. I know you’re strong, man, I get that. But I’m offering Barney to fight in your place.”

Bucky shook his head immediately. “Absolutely not,” he replied firmly. “I don’t want to go to war, but, for this, I will.” He looked at Loki. “I’m figuring you’d have to give Barney some sort of potion or something? There’s no way he’d be doing this out of his own free will, right?” Loki shrugged one shoulder and Bucky snorted. “Yeah, you _had_ to know I wouldn’t be fine with this, right?”

Clint looked pointedly at Loki. “I told you he wouldn’t like it,” he muttered.

Loki merely raised an eyebrow back at him. “It was your idea,” he replied pointedly. Then he nodded. “Then we will go with option two.”

“What’s option two?” Bucky asked. “You gonna staple all his fingers together or something? Stick his head out of a plane?”

“You have a very strange imagination,” Loki replied. “But no. The other plan was for Barney to train with the Einherjar and fight with them in this war to gain back his honor.”

Bucky considered that and scratched at his chin. Then he shook his head. “You know what? I don’t care.” He stood up and looked between the three of them. “I think this whole thing is kind of ridiculous and I don’t really want any part of it. I’m goin’ back to bed.” 

Clint sighed and turned to Loki as Bucky left and stomped back upstairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him. Barney glared at both of them and Loki waved his hand, releasing the spell that kept him mute. “This is bullshit,” Barney muttered. “What the hell is an Einherjar?”

“Asgard’s elite warriors,” Loki informed him pleasantly. “You will be training with them for the next few months as they ready themselves for the battle against Thanos and his warriors.” He calmly regarded Barney and then continued, “I will put no spells or give you no potions. All that I will do is give you to the Einherjar and you will be treated no different than any other recruit. Everything you do will be of your own choice. This is your punishment, Barney Barton. I wish for you to understand how you have treated others and how that will change your future.”

Clint tapped his fingers on the table, uncomfortable, and then cleared his throat. Barney glared at him. “This was my decision,” Clint finally said. “Which you know. When we get there, I want you to remember that it could’ve been a lot worse. I could’ve decided to go with what Loki wanted to do to you. I can promise that that what he would come up with would be unimaginable to you, so remember that this is the best option for you.”

“I said I was fuckin’ sorry,” Barney muttered angrily. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“There is always a choice,” Loki reminded him, finishing off his plate and floating it over to the sink. “You merely made the wrong one.”

* * *

“I do not believe he will be a powerful or any manner of competent warrior,” Loki said as he motioned for Barney to step forward. They were standing in front of Steve, Carol, Sif, and a few Einherjar Generals and Captains. Clint had gone off with a few Einherjar to engage in some friendly competition over shooting arrows and was keeping an eye on them from a distance. “But he is a well-skilled archer and marksman. Perhaps you could utilize his skills in that way.”

One of the Captains, Horatio, was frowning and turned his annoyed look onto Loki. “You are aware the Einherjar is not meant to be your personal punishment—”

“Barney has lost honor,” Loki interrupted. “This is meant to regain that.”

“Ah,” Horatio replied, stepping back and inclining his head. Carol and Steve exchanged glances while Sif nodded. “You are aware we will not go easy on him. This regiment is not meant for mortals.” He motioned to Carol and Steve. “These humans are hardier than other mortals and it is still difficult for them. It will be almost impossible for that human.”

Loki shrugged. “I expect no special treatment. This, as you said, is punishment. The man dishonored his family and he dishonored someone important to me. That is all you need to know.” He looked between all of them. “Am I clear?”

“Yes, Sire,” the various Einherjar replied. 

Steve nodded and looked over Barney. He scratched at his chin and then said, “Barney, I’m sure you didn’t agree to this, but I can’t go against what Loki decides. United front and all. I don’t think this is the right response to what you did, but I’m going to go along with it. You won’t be treated any different because of your relation to Clint. He already has a bit of a reputation amongst the Einherjar about what he’s capable of, so you’re going to have a lot to live up to.”

Barney glared and bared his teeth. Steve snorted.

Carol stepped forward. “I’ll take him,” she decided. “I know just how to get him started.”

Loki shrugged and waved his hand, the seidr bonds dissolving. Barney immediately spun around on him and tried to punch him, but Steve darted in front of him and caught Barney’s fist in his palm. “Bad idea,” Steve warned. Loki watched in amusement as Steve squeezed Barney’s hand until Barney whimpered. “You may be unhappy about this, but it’ll go _very_ bad for you if you try anything. Trust me.”

Carol pushed Steve’s hand down and pushed him back with a hand on his chest. “Barton,” she said, “come with me.” She motioned to one of the Generals and then the three of them walked off together.

“How is she doing?” Loki asked, motioning after Carol with his chin.

“She is frightfully powerful,” one of the Generals offered up. “I have seen little like it. She said her powers come from the Tesseract?”

“Aye,” Loki agreed with a nod. “A consequence of circumstance, as they say.” He looked at Steve. “How have you been settling in, husband?”

Steve smiled. “Back where I belong,” he replied. He looked tired but content, and he brushed a kiss over Loki’s cheek and then went back to talk with the various Einherjar scattered around the training grounds. Loki watched him scrimmage for a few minutes and then looked back over at the higher-ranking Einherjar that he hadn’t dismissed yet.

“Have you any concerns I need to be made aware of?” Loki questioned.

“Nay, Prince,” one of the Generals replied. “Prince Steve is a formidable warrior and a calm, rational Captain. He will lead our troops to victory.”

Loki smiled. “That I am sure of.” He inclined his head to them and dismissed them. Clint came up to Loki once he was alone and the two of them stood in silence for a while, watching as the Einherjar worked around them, training and performing mock battles. It was all rather boring to Loki, who eventually sighed and led Clint away.

They went back to the palace to meet with Balder and his advisors. They were discussing trade agreements and which treaties to extend when Clint opened the door for Loki and the two of them walked in. Brige, Nold, and Byleistr all pushed to their feet and bowed their heads. Loki inclined his as well, and Clint got a chalice of wine and a plate of food for him as Loki sat at Balder’s right hand.

“I have been thinking,” Loki began as Balder’s advisors all sat back down again. Each of them turned to look at him, and Balder made a curious sound and waved for Clint to bring him some food as well. “I spoke to Sif. She told me what you asked of her.”

Clint set a plate of food in front of Balder and then sat at Loki’s right, stealing bites of food off Loki’s plate. Brige and Nold exchanged surprised glances. “Is that so?” Balder questioned, cutting into the meat on his plate and not looking at Loki.

Loki took a sip of wine. “If you do perish in battle, I will not become King. Neither will Steve. He has no interest in it, and the only reason he is royalty at all is because it was part and parcel of marrying me.”

Balder blinked and then looked up from his plate. “What are you saying, Loki?”

“If either of us or forced to take up the crown upon your untimely demise, Asgard will fall.” Loki shrugged one shoulder. “I would hope that is enough for you to make an effort at ensuring your own survival.”

Balder stared at Loki long enough for the prince to become uncomfortable, although he did not show it. Finally, Balder said, “I asked her of Steve’s readiness to take the crown, not you.”

“Steve would not do it,” Loki replied.

“Actually,” Clint interjected, piecing together a bit of bread and cheese, “if there was no other option, he just might. If he feels like it’s an obligation for him, he’d at least do his best.”

Loki’s mouth curved into an ugly snarl. “On your knees,” he hissed, and reached out to drag Clint out of his seat and shove him to the floor. Clint let out a surprised yelp but went willingly, dropping his food to the table. “You are growing too comfortable. If you have something to say, you tell me directly and I tell you if what you’ve come up with is good enough for anyone else to hear. Now _shut up._ ”

_Yes, sir,_ Clint replied dutifully, and he settled on his knees, hands clasped in his lap, head bowed. 

Loki leveled one last glare down at him and then looked back to Balder, schooling his face calm again. “Let me reiterate, King: this seat is your destiny. I killed Thor so you could have it. You will not die in battle, or, at least, not this one.”

“You are certainly well invested for someone who claims to have no attachment to Asgard,” Nold noted with a small smile. Loki gave him a blank, impassive look. “King, what was the purpose of asking Lady Sif such?”

Balder’s beard twitched as he contemplated the question. It took him a few minutes before he finally said, “I am King of Asgard. I must prepare for any eventuality. All I asked of her was if Steve would be ready to take my seat if I met my end.”

“Loki is next in line of succession,” Byleistr piped up. “You would deny your right to the crown?”

“Without hesitation,” Loki replied firmly. “It is only because of Balder that I am even still Prince. Do not doubt my sincerity, Byleistr.”

“No one here doubts you,” Brige finally said. “Our duty is to Balder, and to help him, we must know as much as we can.” She looked to Balder. “You have the entire might of Asgard behind you. You will not die.”

Balder met her gaze and slowly nodded. He let out a great sigh and stroked his beard, leaning back in his chair. “Loki, what else have you come to discuss?”

Loki glanced down at Clint and then shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “May we have the room?” Balder nodded and motioned for his advisors to leave, and Loki waited until the door shut after the three of them before he said, “It is my understanding that Asgard does not have a King’s mage.”

“Aye,” Balder agreed, taking a sip of his ale.

“As I have no interest in being an advisor, I am offering my skills to your throne.”

Balder stroked his beard as he looked at Loki. “This would change very little in your life, Loki. What purpose do you have of even making the offer? You know full well I will accept.”

Loki’s hand nervously found its way to Clint’s hair. “I believe Steve will ask to move here after this battle is finished. He has nothing other than the Avengers and his friends binding him to Earth, and I believe he has found his place here.”

“You would move home for Steve?”

“I would move to the gates of Hel if Steve asked.”

Balder considered him. “So you would,” he noted. “He would leave his home for Asgard?”

“He would leave it for Loki,” Clint piped up, wincing even as he did. Loki snarled at him and surged to his feet, picking Clint up in one hand and casting him against the far wall. Clint let out a grunt as he hit the wall and then crumpled to the floor, motionless.

“Shut up!” Loki roared at him. “Stay your place! You unbelievably disrespectful little cretin. You may be held in high regard but I will not—”

“Loki,” Balder interrupted, holding up a hand. “Ignore him. Punish him later.” Loki managed to rein himself back in and he snapped his fingers, Clint disappearing from the room. Loki turned his attention back to Balder and retook his seat, smoothing his robes down over his legs. “Tell me why.”

“I am going to have to make a choice,” Loki finally said. “Perhaps it will not come for a long time, but eventually, I am going to have to choose between my life on Midgard and my life on Asgard. I refuse to have the decision made for me. I believe Steve wishes for us to move to Asgard; he may be overwhelmed at times by the differing culture and rules, but he is dedicated and loyal already. A man who is not already devoted to a realm would not agree to a personal guard when he is perfectly capable of defending himself against any enemy, and he would not volunteer to train with the Einherjar. I believe Sif is giving him etiquette and history lessons, as well.”

“So you would do this only for Steve?” Balder queried.

Loki looked away from him. It took him a few minutes to build up the courage to answer. “No,” he finally admitted. “I find that Asgard is much more attractive of a home without those who made it miserable.”

Balder finally cracked a teary smile. “Brother,” he said gently, reaching down the table to take Loki’s hand. “It will be one of the greatest honors of my life to welcome you home.”

* * *

Clint crumpled to the floor and stayed there, breathing shallow, not daring to move a muscle. It took awhile for Loki to open the door, walking around the room, ignoring Clint. He wondered if Loki could hear his heart beating, the way it drummed in his chest. Loki used the bathroom, removed his cape, and his boots came to a stop in front of Clint’s face.

“As Balder has told me, you are very well treated. I indulge you. I regard you very highly and give you privileges that others of your station are not allowed. I do this because I believe you deserve it. But I believe that you sometimes forget your place.” Loki’s voice was sharp and cold. Clint slowly rolled over onto his stomach and then crawled forward, keeping his head bowed, and then crumpled at Loki’s feet.

_Forgive my impertinence, sir,_ Clint murmured. _I disrespected you. It was not my intent. I am your humble servant and I—_

“Do _not_ attempt to manipulate me,” Loki hissed darkly. “You have no say here. You forget that I own you, Clint. I _own_ you, I control you, and you will not tell me what to do. You will not speak when it is not your place. You will not act when it is not your duty. Tell me who you are, Clint.”

_I am yours, Loki._

“Tell me what you are.”

_I am yours._

Loki moved forward and went down on one knee in front of Clint, threading his hand through Clint’s short hair. He pulled Clint’s head up until they were looking eye to eye. “I asked Balder what I should do with you,” Loki told him, his tone conversational, and Clint’s eyes went wide. “He recommended that I give you to the marshal and that I leave you with him for a month. I also considered something more drastic: your family. I could remove you from their memories and send them away. I considered telling you that Stephen is no longer allowed in your bed. I considered many other options. Instead of any of that, I’m going to resort to something that I should have done in the first place.” He pushed to his feet and dragged Clint out of the room and into the parlor, where he threw Clint onto the couch. “I am going to rip you open.”

Clint nodded and pulled off his shirt and knelt at the edge of the couch, baring his back as he bent over the couch. Loki moved forward and rested a hand on Clint’s back, right in between his shoulder blades. When he pulled it back a moment later, there was a light green handprint where he had touched. Interesting. Loki held out his other hand and the ruby-hilted dagger appeared in his palm. He held the blade flat against the small of Clint’s back.

Clint quivered beneath him, pushed his face into the cushions, flexed his shoulders. _Sir,_ he murmured, _please._

Loki’s free hand slid up Clint’s back and took a hold on the snake wrapped around his neck. _I am going to turn you inside out._

_Please,_ Clint repeated again, and gasped as the snake around his neck began to tighten, and then the enchanted blade began to dig into his skin.

Loki drew long, swirling lines in his skin, going slowly and moving over the same place over and over again, until Clint was sobbing and shaking and biting the cushions. Loki pushed seidr into the wounds so they would hurt more and Clint shuddered beneath him. He dug the dagger in and watched the blood swell up, then rubbed it into his skin. _You’re going to stink of it,_ Loki hissed. _You’ll crawl through the halls of Asgard and they’ll smell your blood, know you were punished for your poor behavior._ Loki paused at that, pulled his dagger back and looked at it curiously. _What if I punished you in front of all of Asgard? Perhaps that would make the lesson truly stick._

Clint whimpered.

_You know,_ Loki murmured, _it’s that tongue of yours that’s causing so many problems. Perhaps I should just cut it out._ He pulled the knife out of Clint’s back and yanked him back so that he sprawled out on the floor. He straddled Clint and ground his back into the stone floor until fresh tears spilled from Clint’s eyes, and then Loki summoned a strand of seidr, sliding it between Clint’s lips. _Maybe this will make you shut up, pet._

Clint’s mouth flashed green and when he opened it to let out a pained whine, no sound came out. Loki reached forward to pull Clint’s hearing aids out and put them away in one of his pocket dimensions. _I need to remind you that your place is only where I say it is. Your life is the way it is only because of me. You chose this. Now you’re going to stay silent until I say otherwise._ Loki hummed as the spell finished and he pushed to his feet, looking down at Clint’s shaking, bleeding form. _I have no intent of revoking any of your privileges. You have every right to a home and a wife and a lover and your children. You are even allowed to sit and speak your mind. But you must know when it is appropriate and allowed and when it is unacceptable. I know you know this, Clint. You are well versed in propriety and the rules of which you must abide by. So, there is only one reason why you have been pushing the limits: you want to be punished. You pushed and pushed until I had no choice._

Clint twisted around until he was on his side, pressing his forehead against the floor, eyes squeezed shut. _I need it,_ he finally sobbed out. _We went too long and it felt like my body was going to shake apart. I need to be torn down. I need you to hurt me._

“What are you doing?” Steve asked from the doorway. “What did he do to deserve this?” He walked in and Sif closed the door behind them, taking up her post just inside the door, hands clasped on her spear. “Clint, do you need anything?”

Clint, eyes still locked on Loki, shook his head.

“He’s a horrible little boy,” Loki muttered, disappearing the ruby-hilted dagger and cleaning his hands with seidr. “He’s disrespectful and rude and I am refusing to tolerate it any longer.” Clint squeezed his eyes shut and curled up in on himself. “Surprised I’ve put up with him for this long. Perhaps I should go send him with his brother.”

_Just don’t give me to the marshal,_ Clint begged, eyes still squeezed shut.

“What’s a marshal?” Steve asked out loud, moving over to sit on the couch that Clint had been cut open on. He reached out and nudged Clint’s leg until Clint opened his eyes and looked at him, and then Steve motioned for Clint to come closer. Clint let out a silent sob and then crawled forward, pushing his face into Steve’s boots.

“An ex-Einherjar who is employed by the crown to punish any wayward soldiers or servants. He is often used to punish personal guards by higher ranking royalty who do not want to dirty their own hands, so to speak,” Loki replied. “For example, if Sif was ever out of line, you could send her to the marshal and he would quickly put her to rights.”

Sif stiffened and Steve looked to her. “What would that entail?” Steve asked her curiously.

“Esnoph is the current marshal,” Sif replied, voice stiff. “He was a Lieutenant in the Einherjar and was well known for his iron fist. He took pleasure in setting his soldiers up for failure so he could punish them. When he was discharged, Odin hired him as a marshal. I do not serve you in fear of him, Sire, but he is a frightful Aesir.”

“Why does Balder still keep him?”

“For all of Balder’s progressiveness, there are things he is still very traditional on,” Loki replied when Sif seemed hesitant to answer. “A marshal is a very long standing tradition and Balder believes that some things are better left to professionals.” He gave Clint a sharp look. “Perhaps he is right.”

Clint opened his mouth and green seidr spilled out, choking him, and he quickly snapped his mouth back shut and hung his head down.

“What would he do to Clint if given to him? Or you, Sif?” Steve questioned.

Sif lifted her chin. “His punishment would fit the crime, Sire. In Clint’s case, perhaps he would pull out his teeth and his tongue for his disrespect, and give him a potion to regrow them and not allow the use of analgesics or a spell to put them unconscious for the process. I recall he used to keep his soldiers awake for weeks on end and then send them through difficult training courses and have them beat their teammates when they inevitably failed. Perhaps he would come up with something similar for Clint. I cannot speak for him, of course, and I cannot say what he would do to me if I have yet done no wrong.”

Steve considered that for a minute. He reached down and pet Clint’s hair as he thought. Finally he said, “That’s barbaric. How often are his...services utilized?”

“Monthly, perhaps?” Loki guessed, and Sif nodded her agreement. 

Steve pushed to his feet, shaking his head. “Show me where he is,” he ordered Sif, who opened the door for him. “I want to talk to him.”

A bit amused, Loki pulled Clint to his feet and clipped a seidr leash to the snake around his neck. _Come,_ he said. _Steve wishes to meet the marshal._

Clint’s eyes went wide and he tried to dig his heels in, but Loki pulled him along anyway. _No,_ Clint begged, _You promised no one would ever touch me again. Loki, you_ promised.

Loki tugged him down the halls as they followed Steve and Sif. _That was when you were being good. Perhaps you lost that privilege when you decided to undermine me._

Clint shook his head, stumbling and wincing as Loki took a sharp corner. He was growing light headed from blood loss and could feel his pants growing damp and heavy from the blood seeping down his back. Everything hurt, not only on the skin but down deep inside. He’d been foolish, he knew that. But sometimes he just...he just had to test it. He had to make sure it would still hold. He had to know that Loki would always be there. But it seemed like he’d gone too far this time, pushed just a little too much. That was how his life always went; Clint pushed and prodded and pressed until the good things broke and then he was left with the shattered remains. 

He’d just never thought that would happen with Loki. More fool him. 

_Please,_ he begged again, not even trying to keep from crying. _You promised. I’ll be good. Just don’t give me to the marshal. He’ll kill me. I might not be human anymore but I’m definitely not Aesir, and he won’t go easy on me. He’ll break me into so many pieces you won’t be able to put me back together. He’s going to—_

_He’s going to do all that and more if you don’t shut up,_ Loki hissed back at him. _I’ll let him do that and tell him to hurt you more._

_You promised you wouldn’t ever let anyone else touch me,_ Clint tried again. _You said I’ll never be left alone. You said I came first in your heart._

Loki’s shoulders stiffened and he yanked on the leash, Clint crashing to his knees. Clint couldn’t manage to get back to his feet and ended up being dragged behind Loki as he walked through the halls.

Steve couldn’t deal with it for longer than a minute and finally stopped Loki, wrapping one hand around the seidr leash and breaking it with one harsh yank. _Loki isn’t going to give you to the marshal,_ Steve informed Clint, who looked up at him with teary eyes. _He’ll kill anyone who touches you and you know that._ Steve brought up his right hand and curled it into a fist, purple strands of power twisting around his wrist. He cupped Clint’s jaw and brushed away his tears with his thumb, infusing him with power. Behind him, Loki scowled at them. _He’s just mad and he’s taking it out on you. You know this, Clint._

_I know what that marshal can do,_ Clint whispered. _Thor gave Loki to him once. He slaughtered him. He took him to the brink of death over and over again until he was broken. You have no idea what he’s capable of._

Steve nodded. He opened his pocket dimension and dug around in it until he found a vial full of heill, and he yanked out the cork and opened Clint’s mouth with his thumb. He poured in a few drops and Clint shivered as his body began to heal. _Get your head on straight and then tell me what I’m allowed to do with keeping palace employees in their jobs._

Clint took in a few deep breaths and gathered himself back up while Steve put the vial back in his pocket dimension and then sent it away. He looked past Steve to see that Loki was glaring at them and he shuddered. Steve infused him with a bit more power and Clint finally said, _You can hire or fire anyone that doesn’t work directly for any other royalty. Loki can’t fire Sif, for example, or you can’t fire one of Balder’s advisors, just like how you can’t give Loki another guard. You can make unilateral decisions about lower level staff like servants, but propriety dictates that you at least discuss it with another royal member for higher level staff. You’re kind of the Warrior Prince so you would have a lot of say in the Einherjar troops but would have to talk to Balder if you wanted to change up the commanding officers._

Steve nodded. _Warrior Prince?_ he asked, sliding his arm across Clint’s shoulders as he began to walk down the hall again. They walked through a large set of doors and Sif motioned to a door at the bottom of the stairs that led to the throne room.

_Each member of the royal house gets their own designation. Thor was the Mad King, Balder has his own plethora of nicknames, and given who you are and where you’re leading them...they call you the Warrior Prince._

Steve considered that and finally shrugged one shoulder. _I’ve been called worse. What do they call Loki?_

Clint let out a silent chuckle. _They don’t call him it much anymore, but they used to call him Tori. Now they call him Blota Jofurr, or the Sacrifice Prince. Some of them call him the Frightful Prince. I know Sif has called him that._

Sif opened the door and Steve pulled his arm back from Clint and walked into the room. Loki stepped up next to Clint and conjured up a shirt and quickly helped him pull it on. Neither of them said anything as Loki clicked his fingers and cleaned the drying blood from Clint’s back, and Loki set his hand on Clint’s lower back as they walked into the marshal’s quarters.

The marshal, Ensoph, was smaller than Steve would’ve expected. He was taller than any of them, which was normal for Aesir, and well-built, but a lot of Aesir were massive and muscular, and Ensoph was more thin. He had a long dark beard and long hair that he kept back in a bun, and he wore unadorned, plain leathers and no cape. He looked rather unassuming and plain, but when he looked up and smiled once he recognized them, Steve saw his eyes were cold and mean.

“Princes,” he greeted, standing up from his desk and moving around to greet them. “What do I owe the pleasure?” His eyes lit up at seeing Clint and his smile turned dark.

Loki and Steve both inclined their heads and Loki pushed Clint into the room, motioning for him to sit in one of the comfortable chairs off to the side. Clint slowly sat down, eyes locked on Ensoph. “Marshal Ensoph,” Loki greeted, “we have come to enlist your services.” He motioned to Clint. “It spoke out during a meeting with Balder and his advisors. Before you punish it, I’d like to know what you’re going to do. For my own edification, of course.”

Ensoph stepped up to peer down at Clint and reached out a hand, but paused before he touched him. “May I?” he asked Loki. Loki shook his head and Ensoph dropped his hand, clasping them behind his back. “I know that your little pet likes to talk, Prince. Perhaps I would cut out it’s tongue or pull out it’s vocal chords, or even feed it a potion that would make it spill all of it’s secrets.” He smiled at the look of fear in Clint’s eyes. “Isn’t your pet deaf, Prince?”

“Aye,” Loki affirmed. “It currently cannot hear you, but it has some ability to read lips, and I also told it where we were going.”

Ensoph smiled again. “Delightful,” he murmured, and turned back to them. “Is Lady Sif here for a similar reason, Prince Steve?”

Steve frowned at him and then shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “No,” he replied slowly. “I do have to ask, though, do you really think that’s an appropriate response to what Clint did? Loki already punished him.”

Ensoph smiled nastily. “Ah, but it can always be punished more, can it not? And if Prince Loki _did_ punish it, then why did it speak out? Surely Loki’s fist is not ironclad, and surely the human needs more training. Training that I am perfectly happy to provide, of course.”

Steve nodded slowly. “Of course,” he muttered, casting Loki a dark glance. “Loki, do you have any issue with what I’m going to do?”

“No,” Loki replied simply. He set his hand on the back of Clint’s neck, slipping his fingers under the golden snake. Clint turned his head into his side and leaned against him.

Steve’s hands curled into fists and power slowly began to curl around his right fist. “As of now, Marshal Ensoph, you’re released from your post. You’ll be—”

“You cannot do this!” Ensoph exclaimed. “Odin employed me and you cannot just _fire_ me, fake Prince of Asgard! I am—”

“Fake prince?” Steve boomed, power crackling around him, and he surged forward, shoving Ensoph back until he hit his desk. “You are a _bully,_ ” Steve snarled, “and you’re not going to continue hurting people. I’m going to have you charged with abusing your post and causing intentional harm to Aesir. I may be human but I will _not_ stand for this, and you and the rest of Asgard that think I’m going to be pushed around or won’t use the power I have for good, you’re wrong. Sif, go get Balder.”

“Of course, Sire,” Sif murmured, flashing Ensoph a smug smile, and then she left, closing the door behind her. Steve made sure she was gone and then turned back to Ensoph.

Ensoph tried to get out of Steve’s grasp but Steve held him down. “It wasn’t even a particularly good trap,” Loki spoke up, a bit amused, and Ensoph turned to glare at him. “You were so wrapped up in the thought of harming Clint that you didn’t think of _why_ I’d let you touch him. The forbidden fruit, was it not?”

“Give me a chance,” Ensoph hissed, “I’ll show your little pet human pain that it can’t even _imagine._ ”

Loki looked down at Clint and gently pet his skin with his fingers. Clint’s eyes slowly shut and he pressed his face into Loki’s side, tension seeping out of his shoulders. _Good boy,_ Loki murmured. _I apologize for worrying you. I should not have threatened you to the point where you broke, nor, I suppose, threatened you at all. All we need to do is talk._

_Whatever you want,_ Clint replied tiredly. _Just don’t let anyone touch me. Please._

_Of course,_ Loki said, and then looked back to Steve. _What do you intend to do with him?_

“I want to kill him,” Steve hissed, and threw Ensoph down to the floor. He took in a few deep breaths and then shook his head. “Should do to him what he wanted to do to Clint.”

“We could,” Loki agreed, “but you don’t truly wish to. We’ll talk to Balder when he arrives. For now, let him up. He won’t do anything; he’s lost most skills he had in the Einherjar since he retired, and he’s never been much of a seidrmadr.”

Steve hauled Ensoph to his feet and shoved him into the seat opposite Clint. Ensoph sneered up at Loki. “Of course I was never much of a seidrmadr,” Ensoph replied nastily, “I’m no _ergi,_ Tori.”

Loki’s nostrils flared and then his mouth twisted in an ironic smile. “No, you may not be,” he allowed slowly, “but you won’t be much of anything once we’re done with you.”

_Ergi?_ Steve asked, but Loki just shook his head.

The door slammed open and Balder stormed in. “What is the meaning of this?” Balder barked out. “Steve, you may have the right to remove personnel without—Loki? You approved this?”

Loki shrugged one shoulder and perched on the arm of the chair Clint was in, crossing one leg over the other. “I don’t believe Asgard requires a marshal,” he replied simply. “Especially not one as sadistic as Ensoph.”

“Why was I brought into this?” Balder demanded of Steve, turning on him. “If you wish to change the staff in the palace, I do not need to be involved. If you wish to arrest someone, call an Einherjar. Why am I here?”

Steve lifted his chin. “I’m asking you to not fill the marshal position after Ensoph is arrested.”

Balder frowned. “A marshal is traditional in Asgard.” He glanced behind him at Sif, who shrugged one shoulder. “It is customary to have one in the palace at all times. There are certain—”

“I understand that,” Steve interrupted smoothly. Balder’s eyebrows jumped up and his beard twitched. “You’re King now. A marshal is outdated and cruel. Why do we need a dedicated staff member that’s sole purpose is to hurt your subjects? Isn’t that the opposite of what you’re trying to do as King?”

“We often have staff who make mistakes, or Einherjar who act out of turn,” Balder replied, shaking his great head. “They must be punished for their actions, Steve.”

“Why not talk to them instead of hurting them?” Steve asked calmly. “Why not figure out the root cause instead of immediately resorting to punishment?”

Balder considered that and then looked to Ensoph, who had stayed silent and fuming during their conversation. He called for an Einherjar to take the marshal away, and Ensoph attempted to fight and get away as the soldier dragged him out.

Balder let out a sigh. “Steve, you are a member of this house and have every right as Loki or I to enact new policies. This is not the proper channel for such a request, but I will take it into consideration. We will be without a marshal for the next month at least. Because this was your idea, Steve, you will take over all of Ensoph’s duties. You may enact punishment if you wish.” Balder moved over to Loki. “This is not the way to do this, brother.”

Loki shrugged one shoulder and slid his hand up to pet through Clint’s hair. “It is how Steve wished to do it,” he replied casually. “He does not abide by tradition, Balder, and you know this.”

Balder nodded slowly, looking between the two of them, and then he decided he was done and swept out of the room. Steve grimaced and looked at Loki. “What do we do now?”

“ _We_ do nothing,” Loki replied, pushing to his feet and tugging Clint along with him. Clint’s eyes fluttered open and he looked blearily around the room. “You now have extra duties on top of your Einherjar duties, Captain. I can only imagine that Sif and Natigus, wherever he is, will be happy to help. Clint and I will return to our rooms.”

With that, Loki pulled Clint out of the office and down the halls back to their rooms. Steve looked around the room with a sigh and he shook his head. “What did I get myself into?” he muttered to himself.

“Your goal is to help,” Sif told him, and Steve’s head swung around to look at her. “Ensoph was a terrible Aesir with a heart full of hate. You could have stood by or accepted what he was doing, as possibly anyone else would have done. Even as you have worked to understand our world here, Sire, you still wish to change the bad parts for the better.” She lifted her chin and proudly met Steve’s gaze. “You are an admirable human, Sire, and I hope more Aesir will be like you.”

Steve smiled softly at her. “Thank you, Sif,” he replied gently. “You know you’re going to have to help me with this, right?”

She smiled back. “Happily and without complaint.”


	13. chapter twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Byleistr learn more about each other. Steve gives Loki a gift. Loki fixes a problem with Steve's help, and the end of the world truly begins.

Clint shivered as Loki gently lowered him into the bath. _Don’t want it,_ he muttered again, shaking his head but not trying to fight. _Don’t put me in there._

 _It is only water,_ Loki assured him as Clint slipped under the water, head propped up by Loki’s hands. _I put in a few drops of healing potion, but that is only to help and soothe._

Clint’s head lolled back as he blinked up at Loki. _Would you really have given me to him?_

 _No,_ Loki promised him. _I was merely frustrated and taking it out on you. You needed to be taught a lesson and reminded of your place but I took it too far, and again, I apologize. I am terribly sorry for my actions against you. Now let me take care of you._

Clint nodded and then slowly, his eyes fell shut, and he turned into Loki’s grasp as seidr began to flow over him, cleaning his skin and removing any traces of wounds. They both sat in silence for a few minutes as Clint slowly grew more and more relaxed, seidr slipping under his skin and warming his bones. The brands on his chest and palms and soles of his feet began to glow a soft, dull green, and Loki reached down to gently trace the brand on Clint’s chest.

_I found out why you have those._

_I know._

Loki smiled, just a bit. _The Soul Stone sickened your soul. I fixed it, and in doing so, bound us even tighter._

_I know._

Loki paused, trying to make sense of all the complicated emotions coming through the bond, and then he cautiously asked, _Does this make you unhappy?_

Clint just shook his head and opened his eyes, getting up and out of the bath without Loki’s help. He wrapped a towel around himself and looked down at the floor as he said, _It’s fine. I’m just tired._

With that, Clint left the bathroom, and went to bed, leaving Loki sitting on the side of the tub. Loki stared after him, not quite sure what to think. He’d never...Clint had _never_ walked away from him like that. Loki knew he’d gone too far, had pushed him too much, but he hadn’t expected this. Loki shook his head at himself and got up, sent the bathwater away, and changed into sleeping clothes. He avoided Clint curled up in the middle of the bed and went to go read a book on the couch, and if he happened to fall asleep there a few hours later, it wasn’t anyone’s business other than his own.

* * *

Loki took the offered cup and gave it a curious look before he sniffed at it. “You say this is a tea?” he questioned, and took a small sip. It was actually quite good, and strangely warm as it settled in his stomach.

Byleistr nodded and took the seat across the table from him, sipping at his own tea. They were in the parlor off his rooms, where half the furniture was Aesir sized and the other half was Jotun sized. Everything was elegant and understated, not quite to Loki’s personal taste, but he could understand the appeal. “We make it from the red leaves of the _calopium_ plant. It is refreshing and energizing. Our troops drink it by the gallon in battle, and our seidrmadrs drink it to replenish their seidr stores.”

Loki nodded and took another sip, but didn’t feel anything happening with his seidr. Perhaps it was different with Jotun. He set the cup on the table and clasped his hands in his lap. “I would normally stand on decorum and not ask this so directly, but why did you ask me here, Byleistr?”

Byleistr gave him a faintly amused look and set his own cup down. He was a bit small for a Jotun, but he was young. “Father told me your identity before we came here,” he told Loki. “I merely wished to get to know you.”

Loki briefly met Byleistr’s red gaze and then glanced away, stopping himself from shifting uncomfortably. He glanced back over his shoulder to see Natigus standing guard at the door, the fire giant watching them calmly. Clint had essentially refused to get out of bed and Loki had been too uncomfortable to order him to come with, so Natigus it was. Loki enjoyed the company of the stoic and serious fire giant, but he missed Clint. “You already know me,” he said slowly, watching as Byleistr predictably shook his head. Loki nodded and gave his younger brother a small smile. “What do you wish to know?”

Byleistr leaned in closer, clasping his massive hands over his knees. “What was your childhood like? When did they tell you you’re Jotun? I saw your true skin when I accepted Balder’s advisory offer. Father said you are very beautiful, and he is not wrong. If you wish, I can tell you more about Jotunheim.” He gave Loki an excited look and Loki couldn’t help but to smile back.

“My childhood was cold,” Loki finally said, and he motioned to the room around them. “Odin was an absent father at best and cruel and incalculable at his worst. Frigga was a bit more warm and understanding, but her machinations made my life all the worse. I lived in splendor and opulence, but it was not comforting. Instead, it was constricting. We were given all we wanted and more, but it was rarely enough because it either came with strings or to turn us against each other.”

“What was Thor like?” Byleistr asked gently.

Loki smiled softly. “He shone brighter than the sun. He was all strength and power and I loved him. He was the only one to ever accept me for who I was, and because of it, he did cruel and horrible things to me.” He glanced over Byleistr, wondered what Helblindi was like as a brother, if Byleistr spent so much of his life in torment because his brother was the only one who cared about him and then turned around and molested him in the dark. Norns, he hoped not. Byleistr suddenly reminded him so much of himself, so bright and hopeful and brilliant, and Loki would hate to see a flame like that snuffed out. “I know what Thor and Odin did to Jotunheim. I hope you have begun to rebuild.”

Byleistr nodded. “I never knew anything different than living without the Casket,” he confided in Loki. “The war happened before I was born. You were very young, just a babe, and Farbauti was pregnant with Helblindi.” He glanced around the room and then picked up his tea again to take a drink, then stared down into it as he said, “I was born into hell and chaos. I am a few decades younger than Helblindi, and he was as to me as Thor was to you: a protector, a guide, someone who had already suffered and was refusing to let me suffer. We had already learned to live without the Casket by the time Balder returned it, and had built new cities and new palaces and new homes, but the Casket surely helped.”

Loki smiled. “I hope Helblindi is kinder to you than Thor was to me,” he said softly and Byleistr’s eyes went wide and then he nodded immediately. “I am glad for you, Byleistr. What is Laufey like as a father? Was Farbauti a good mother?”

Byleistr sniffled. “She died giving birth to me. Helblindi used to tell me stories of her when we would go to bed together. We lived in a small palace for a while and my room was always too warm, so I’d go sleep with him. He would take me outside and we’d look at the stars and he’d tell me about our dam. Laufey was...he’s wonderful. He can be distant, but he’s caring and comforting and completely different when behind closed doors. I miss him every day.”

“Can you go back?”

Byleistr nodded, but said, “I dedicated myself to Balder. I’ll go back home perhaps every few years, and if I am ever released from service, I’ll return home permanently. But advisors are life-long positions, not temporary. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to take the position, and I enjoy the service. I was raised into it, after all. I merely hope Helblindi is doing alright without me.”

“How so?”

“We were raised to know that he would be King and I would be his advisor. Until Balder asked for me, I never thought my future would be anything different. Now I only hope he has someone he trusts.” Byleistr finished his tea and summoned a carafe to refill his cup, looking a bit lost in thought.

Watching him, Loki picked up his own cup and looked down into it. “Perhaps when Clint is better, you may wish to speak with him. He is also living a life that he did not plan for.” And that he may regret, Loki didn’t say. He didn’t want to think about that. “If I were King, he would be my advisor, so you two have quite a bit in common.”

“You’d let me? Talk to him, that is.”

Loki took a sip of tea. “Of course. We’re family, after all. If not only blood, then through bond.”

Byleistr’s cheeks flushed purple as he nodded. “I would appreciate that,” he said quietly, looking softly at Loki.

Loki looked at his brother. He did not feel like a brother, but Loki didn’t quite know what a brother was supposed to feel like. He wondered if it was coincidence that Byleistr and Helblindi’s lives reflected how his should’ve been if Thor and Frigga hadn’t been so cruel. He wondered if it was an eventuality that they all ended up here together, moving along the same paths. “Tell me about Jotunheim,” he requested. “You already know about Asgard. Tell me of home.”

Byleistr’s face split in a huge grin. “It is cold, of course,” he began, “but it is so beautiful. The skies are clear and the sun is silver. We have seas that are unfathomably large and so deep that our technologies still have not reached the bottom. I used to sit on the edge of the cliffs and look out over the great waters beneath, down at the never-ending waves, watching the fish and the animals live out their lives underneath the water, never aware I was there. It is all ice and snow and it is so beautiful, Loki. I hope I have a chance to show you one day. Asgard is beautiful but nothing like Jotunheim.”

Loki smiled. “It sounds lovely.”

“It is,” Byleistr told him. “Our sunsets are the most beautiful in all the Nine. And our sunrises will bring you to tears.”

“When this is all over, you and I will journey to Jotunheim, and you will see your brother and show me around your home.” Byleistr nodded eagerly. “I was taught many incorrect and cruel things about Jotnar, things that were taught to us to perpetuate and justify the war against your home. But I have done my best to unlearn those things, and I look forward to learning even more.”

Byleistr reached across the table and patted Loki’s arm with one huge blue hand. “So do I,” he said with a smile, showing off his long, pointed teeth. “I am glad to have another brother, Loki.”

Loki smiled in return. “So am I.” He wasn’t even sure it was entirely a lie.

Natigus knocked on the door jamb to get their attention and Loki turned to look back to see a servant hurrying away from the fire giant. “Steve requests your presence back in your rooms,” Natigus told them, and Loki nodded, pushing to his feet. He looked up at his brother and Byleistr wrapped him in a hug. Loki stiffened but allowed it, and then inclined his head and followed Natigus out of the parlor and through the palace back to his own rooms.

The Einherjar posted outside their rooms opened the doors for them, and Loki walked in, removing his cloak and tossing it over the arm of the couch as he sat down. A servant brought him a small plate of food and Loki picked through it as he waited for Steve.

It took Steve a few minutes to arrive, walking into the living room with a small red sack in his hands, Sif on his heels. He smiled at seeing Loki and then glanced around for Clint, frowning when he didn’t see him. “You alone?”

“Natigus was with me,” Loki replied, looking back down at his plate of meat and figs. “Clint is in bed.”

Steve nodded and joined Loki on the couch, fiddling with the small bag. “Is he still sick?”

Loki shrugged one shoulder and cast his gaze to Steve’s hands. “What did you get from Boda?” At Steve’s questioning look, Loki expounded, “I have a great many jewels from her. The bag is familiar to me.”

Steve nodded and took in a breath, gathering himself up. “I love you,” he said softly to Loki, and tugged the bag open, jewelry spilling out into his palm. “I’m not one for jewelry or anything like that. I know you are. I never saw the attraction in it, but it’s important to you, so when Clint was showing me around the palace, I talked to Boda. She agreed to make this for me. I told her I wanted something that showed you how much I adore you, how much I’m dedicated to our future together. We haven’t hit our one year anniversary yet, and I think it’ll happen around the time Thanos comes to Earth, but she finished this early and I wanted you to have it.”

Steve carefully separated the jewelry and then held out the separate pieces for Loki to take, one at a time. They were delicate pieces, fashioned out of silver and uru, inset with diamonds and green diamonds and emeralds. There was a thin necklace that looked like a delicate crown of leaves, a pair of small earrings that looked like leaves, a bracelet made out of crossed over leaves that looked braided together, and then a few rings that were thin and had tiny leaves, all encrusted with gems.

“Oh, husband,” Loki breathed, taking each piece at a time and examining it. “These are beautiful.”

Loki did not hesitate to go to his knees at Steve’s feet, where he belonged. Steve smiled at him and gently slid the earrings into his ears, clasped the necklace around Loki’s neck, and then put the rings and bracelets on him. “I chose leaves because leaves are meant to symbolize hope and rebirth and renewal. Each leaf means something different: hope, faith, luck, love, anything you want. You don’t have to wear any of it if you don’t want, but, at the very least, if you see them in your jewelry box, you’ll know that I love you even if I’m not with you.”

Loki nodded, blinked away tears. “They’re beautiful,” he said again, feeling the earrings and necklace with his fingers. “Steve,” he murmured, and surged up Steve’s body to kiss him.

Natigus and Sif exchanged glances but before they could leave, the door from the bedroom banged open, revealing Clint, who looked pissed. Loki and Steve both stopped kissing to look back at them.

“No!” Clint barked, marching into the room. “I’m not dealing with this.” He pointed to both Sif and Natigus, “You two, get out of here. We need to talk.”

“I thought you spelled him from talking,” Steve remarked as he watched Sif and Natigus leave.

Loki moved up and sat on the couch next to Steve, frowning as Clint paced angrily in front of them. “I removed it before I left this morning,” he told Steve. “Clint, tell me.”

Clint glared at him. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of worn grey sweatpants and the golden snake wrapped around his neck. “I’m tired of it,” Clint finally told him, coming to a stop on the other side of the coffee table. He pointed at the brand on his chest and tugged at the snake around his neck. “I’m fed up with it.”

Loki shifted uncomfortably. Steve put his hand on Loki’s thigh. “With what precisely?”

“Do you know what it’s like to feel _everything_ someone else feels? Do you know what it’s like to be feeding your kid and suddenly get so horny you could scream? Do you know what it’s like to not have _anything_ of your own?” Clint asked of them.

Loki’s mouth thinned and he lifted his chin, the gems on his new jewelry catching the light. “You chose that,” he said simply.

“I chose it as much as someone can choose to be kidnapped,” Clint snapped. “I chose it as much as you chose for Thor to treat you that way.”

“Clint, where’s this coming from?” Steve asked with a frown. “I get that your life doesn’t have a lot of autonomy, but it’s not all bad, right? Don’t you enjoy it?”

“Enjoy it?” Clint hissed. “You think I _enjoy_ being treated like shit? You think I like dressing Loki like he’s a kid? You think I like the fact that Loki can change anything about me—”

Loki waved his hand and Clint crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Loki waved his hand and Clint’s body floated up and then moved over to rest on top of the coffee table. Loki leaned forward and rested his hand on Clint’s chest, right over the brand.

“What is it? Why’s he acting like that?” Steve questioned. “I thought he was blocking those things out.”

“He is,” Loki replied, almost absently. “He is now almost fully capable of blocking out emotions he doesn’t want to feel. Sometimes they slip through but he can resist them. I am unsure of where this is coming from but I believe it has something to do with the new runes on his skin.”

“Did you ever find out where they came from?”

Loki nodded as he pulled down Clint’s pants, dropping them on the floor. Steve grimaced at seeing him naked but didn’t say anything. Loki examined every inch of skin on Clint’s legs and feet, and then perfunctorily moved on to his groin, lifting up his groin and spreading his legs to check between his cheeks.

“What are you looking for?”

“You once expressed frustration with me that I still held affection towards Stephen Strange,” Loki said, gently and easily rolling Clint over onto his stomach to examine his back. “When we were married, you noticed that I still held a small bond for him in my soul. I elected to change this by giving the bond to Clint.”

“God damn it,” Steve muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. “You soul bonded them?”

“Technically, I only bound Clint to Stephen. Not the other way around. Stephen’s feelings are all his own, although he may have been a bit influenced by the bond.” Loki shrugged one shoulder. “What other option did I have?”

“Tell me! You could’ve _said_ something, Loki. I thought Clint could only hold a set number of bonds.”

“He can,” Loki agreed. “My soul and seidr are not capable of supporting any more, but his can. I tell you this because I believe one of the reasons the Soul Stone was reacting so poorly with him was that his soul is not his own. Hela could not take his soul from him because it does not belong to him. It is fundamentally opposed to his entire being to be upset over his station in life.” Loki tugged at the golden snake around Clint’s neck until it animated and slithered around to pool in his palms. Loki deposited the snake in Steve’s lap and then went back to examining Clint’s body. “At first, I believed it was merely frustration at my own poor behavior that set him off. But I was looking into the reasonings behind a body spontaneously branding itself, and found a small passage in a book about soulbonds.”

“Oh?” Steve pressed when Loki didn’t seem interested in explaining further.

Loki turned Clint back over onto his back and then dipped a hand beneath his skin, feeling for any abnormalities with his organs. “When I began to heal the damage caused by the Soul Stone, I used seidr to fill in the gaps. I believed, at first, that the brands were caused by inadvertently binding us tighter. I told Clint this last night, and he agreed with me. But I was wrong, and he knew that.”

“What are you saying?” Steve asked slowly. “Is this not—”

“No, it is still him,” Loki assured him. “I had considered the damage from the Soul Stone to be fully healed. I was wrong. The sickness reached his mind. I healed his soul, but the sickness in his mind festered until it essentially burst when I was...overzealous with my punishment.” He pulled his hand back from Clint’s stomach and scooted up the couch a little bit so that he was level with Clint’s head. Loki reached out and pet his hair. “Poor boy,” he muttered. “He’s been trying as hard as he can to keep an even keel but this just knocked him overboard.”

“You can fix it, right?”

Loki nodded immediately and then shot Steve a curious look. “Would you like to help?”

Steve opened his mouth and then closed it again. “How much time will it take?” he asked, wincing. “I have a lot of work to do with the Einherjar, and now with these extra marshal duties…”

“I cannot imagine it would take any longer than the rest of the day. Surely a Prince of Asgard could leave his duties for one day?”

“Only if the other Prince asked him to,” Steve said back, leaning in to give Loki a kiss. He lifted the golden snake in his hands. “You don’t think this thing has anything to do with it, right? Just to make sure.”

Loki shook his head and held out his hand, the snake animating and curling up to wrap around his fingers and then curl around his wrist. Seidr twisted around his fingers and then swirled around the snake. “It is merely a bauble. It is made of Asgardian gold, so it is particularly receptive to seidr, but Balder would know better than to give me something that would cause harm to anyone, but especially Clint. I killed his predecessor, after all.”

“Didn’t you say he was going to give you more of those gifts? He’s only given you the one.”

Loki shot him a faintly confused look. “Yes, he only gave it to me a year or so ago.”

“Yeah, a whole year ago.”

Understanding suddenly flooded Loki’s face and he let out a dry chuckle. “You are still thinking like a human, my Captain. You need to think like an Aesir. A year is...it is a blink. It is incremental. We live over five thousand of them, after all; they tend to blur together. If he has not given me another apology gift by five years, then perhaps it is time to worry he may have forgotten or no longer believe he has a duty to protect me.”

With that, Loki turned back to Clint. He held out his hand and the golden snake slithered out of his grasp and then curled up in a circle on Clint’s chest. Loki held out his hand and Steve took it, and then Loki reached out to press his hand to Clint’s forehead.

They landed in the forefront of Clint’s mind. Unlike all the times Steve had been there before, it looked destroyed, like a beast had wrecked it. The galaxy of memories that had once been beautiful and otherworldly was now dull and lifeless. The walls seemed to sag, the floor was caved in, and it was completely decimated.

 _Oh, pet,_ Loki murmured sadly as he looked around. Even the bridge leading to Loki’s mind was limp and lifeless. _This is awful._

 _The Soul Stone did all this?_ Steve clarified. _How could it do this to it’s master?_

Loki shook his head. _Again, I believe it rebels against those without particular strength of soul, and as Clint’s soul is not his own, it was particularly easy to overpower. As you know, it is the most mysterious and unlearned Infinity Stone, so I can only guess._ Loki motioned to the chaos around them and shook his head. _This is...this is destruction. This is upending someone’s sense of self and completely tearing it in two._

_What do we do? How do we fix it?_

Loki bent down and picked up a few pieces of wood that Steve only just realized were the remnants of the two thrones that had once sat in Clint’s mind. _I suppose one step at a time, as all things must be done._ Loki shook his head and sighed. _I have not been in here in a few months. It is terrible to see what has happened to him._

 _We’ll fix it,_ Steve swore.

Loki began to flood Clint’s mind with seidr, slowly and carefully putting things to rights. Steve activated the Power Stone, infusing Clint’s mind with purple strands of power, and slowly and surely, things began to correct themselves. The thrones were rebuilt, the galaxy of Clint’s thoughts began to spin and regain color, and the walls and floor slowly fixed themselves, standing up straighter and taking pride in their appearance.

Then Loki slowly turned his attention down the long hall to the lone door. Steve went first, wincing at the way the door hung askew, and froze in place at what he saw.

Loki looked over his shoulder and then pushed Steve aside as he rushed in, falling to his knees at Clint’s side. The archer was curled up in a ball at the bottom of his filing cabinet of memories, naked and pale. _Clint,_ Loki gasped, turning him over so he could cradle the man’s face. _I know what happened. I need you to wake up._

Clint’s eyes fluttered. Steve moved around Loki to kneel next to him, resting his hands on Clint’s chest, purple strands of power wrapping around him. 

_I fixed it,_ Loki told him. _I came to help. I saw what the Soul Stone did to you and I fixed it._

Clint turned his face into Loki’s hands. _I didn’t mean it,_ he whispered, barely conscious, and around them, Clint’s mind began to flutter to life. _I don’t want anything else._

_Hush, pet, I know. I’m not mad._

Clint nodded and pushed forward, curling up in Loki’s lap, sliding his hands under Loki’s shirt to get as much skin-to-skin contact as he could. Steve moved up next to Loki so that the god had something to lean on and reached around Loki to take Clint’s hand. Clint shuddered. _I didn’t mean it,_ Clint repeated. _Is Steve mad?_

 _No,_ Loki answered for him. _No one is mad. We’re here for you. Take as long as you need._

Clint nodded. Loki and Steve looked at each other and then slowly scooted around so they were both leaning back against the filing cabinet. Loki flooded the room with seidr and gently but firmly blanketed Clint in it, wrapping him up so tight he started to sweat. Behind them, Clint’s memories started to piece together, and Steve got up to watch it happen. He pulled open one of the drawers and watched in amazement as the memories inside swirled around and came together and separated and cast off all kinds of light and colors. It was incredible. 

_This is amazing,_ Steve breathed. _This is how you organized it, Loki?_

 _Yes,_ Loki replied, petting Clint’s hair. _He had it horribly organized before I came along. It was all in rooms and everything was grouped together by adjacency and it barely made sense. I fixed it._

Steve slowly shut the drawer and looked around to see the walls fixing themselves. It seemed that Clint’s mind was on the way to being fully repaired, which was a relief. _Yeah, I remember him telling me about it. I was aghast at the time, now that seems pretty normal to me. Crazy how things change like that._ He moved around the small room and then stopped next to Loki again, sitting down on the floor and reaching through the seidr surrounding Clint. He stroked down Clint’s back and then up again, trying to soothe him. Loki gave him a warm look and Steve smiled at him. _Loki, I...I had all this information available to me in here and never looked through it._

 _No,_ Loki agreed, _you did not._

_I should’ve. You kept telling me I would understand but I never did, not until Sif started teaching me._

Loki cut his eyes away from Steve and looked down at Clint. _My assumption was that you would utilize the information available to you. You have access to both of our minds and are able to learn anything about Asgard with ease. But you never...made the effort._

 _I’m sorry,_ Steve said. I’m trying my best. I was uncomfortable with it. But I’ll do better.

Loki gave him a small smile. _It is understandable to be uncomfortable,_ he said finally. _But none of us can help if we do not know the problem._ Green eyes watched Steve’s hand stroking Clint’s back and Loki softened. _As you said once, my Captain, we can speak telepathically but we are still poor communicators. It will come with time._

They sat in silence as Clint healed. 

Then, Loki said, _I informed Balder that we will be moving to Asgard once Thanos is killed. I intend to take up position as his mage._

Steve considered that. It wasn’t a surprise. He knew their future was Asgard and not Earth. _What will I be doing?_

Loki shrugged one shoulder, careful not to dislodge Clint, not looking at Steve. _You may stay on Midgard and continue your duties as Captain America, or you may come to Asgard and continue your duties as my husband and a Captain in the Einherjar._

_What about Clint?_

_I have considered asking his family if they would move here. I will also build a portal between our chambers and their home. He will split time between places. It will be nothing his wife or children are unused to._

_Our friends?_

Loki hid his smile at Steve calling everyone ‘their’ friends. _I will build another portal as well. They may come visit whenever they like and if you desire, send for you and your aid whenever they wish. I will even put a portal in the Sanctum so Stephen can come fuck Clint whenever he wants, and will even link Clint’s house into it as well._

Steve reached up with his free hand and pushed Loki’s hair behind his ear. _You thought of everything._

 _Actually,_ Clint rasped, eyes fluttering open, _I’m the one who thought of everything. He just randomly decides shit and I have to figure out all the details._

Loki wrapped his arms around him and pulled Clint in for a hug. Clint let himself be hauled up into Loki’s lap and slid his arms around Loki’s shoulders as they tipped their foreheads together and shared breath. Steve leaned forward and slung an arm around both of their waists, leaning in to reassure the both of them with his presence. 

_Didn’t mean it,_ Clint said again. _I don’t regret anything. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to test you. I shouldn’t have pushed—_

 _I know,_ Loki murmured. _I used your own blade against you and I should not have done that. Perhaps the seidr imbued within it reacted with the Soul Stone and that is what broke you. So, again, I am sorry._

The three of them sat in silence for awhile and then Clint stiffened and pulled back. _Why am I naked?_ he questioned, looking down and then covering his groin with his hand.

 _We’re in your mind,_ Steve told him, a bit of a wry twist to his lips, and he brought his hand to the back of Clint’s neck and held him. _You’re the one in here who chooses what you wear. Glad you’re okay. Think we got everything fixed?_

Clint pushed to his feet and Steve and Loki got up as well. Clint moved around, fiddled with the memory drawers, and then moved back into the large room. Steve and Loki followed behind him, Steve’s hand on Loki’s lower back as they walked down the hall.

 _This all looks like it’s getting back to normal,_ Clint remarked as he looked around. He rocked one of the thrones and when it didn’t collapse, Loki walked around it and sat down. Steve sat down in the other and reached over and took Loki’s hand. Clint conjured up a pair of pants and then sat down at Loki’s feet, leaning against his leg, and Loki’s hand began to card through his hair.

 _Don’t you have stuff to do?_ Clint asked of the two of them.

 _Didn’t realize it was your place to worry about that,_ Loki told him, and Clint smiled, turned his face into Loki’s hand.

 _I took the day off,_ Steve told him. _Figured a Prince can take a day off every now and then._

Clint snorted. _Yeah, I figured as much too._ He blindly reached out and patted Steve’s leg. _Thanks, Cap, for being here._

_Of course, Clint. Don’t need to thank me for something like that._

* * *

“These are incredible,” Clint breathed as he picked up the necklace Steve had commissioned for Loki. “God, these are beautiful.”

“Steve designed them,” Loki replied, fiddling with the earrings and holding them up to the light. “I didn’t realize he could be so...delicate.”

“Well, he’s usually pretty rough with you,” Clint allowed, trying one of the rings on. Loki’s fingers were so much finer than his that the rings barely made it past the first knuckle. “Maybe try asking him to calm down sometime.”

Loki paused and looked at Clint through his lashes. “I was under the impression you were able to block out any feelings of arousal from my end.”

Clint shrugged. “I told you this already, but yeah, I mean I can mostly. Sometimes it’ll catch me off guard, but it’s really not that frustrating. It was at first, but it’s a pretty mild sacrifice to make.”

Loki nodded and cast his gaze away. “Is it worth it?” he asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

Clint leaned across the table and caught Loki’s hand. “You could take everything from me, everything I ever cared about, everything I’ve worked for, and it would still be worth it. There’s nothing that would make this, would make _you,_ not worth it. Understand?”

Loki met his gaze and nodded. _Thank you,_ he murmured, and Clint squeezed his hand and then they went back to looking at the jewelry.

“Each leaf is different,” Clint remarked, holding up the necklace again. “They could’ve copied the same leaf but they didn’t. The craftsmanship is incredible.”

“Yes, Asgard’s jewelry makers do exiquisite work,” Loki murmured. “Thor often rewarded me with jewelry or gems when I pleased him.” He paused and glanced at Clint. “Has Steve done this before?”

“He bought you a cell phone,” Clint replied after thinking about it. “Pretty nice one, too. But jewelry super isn’t his thing. He grew up right around the Great Depression, so jewelry was basically non-existent back then. At least for folks in his social class. And he doesn’t even wear any, so it’s just not something he thinks about.”

“Great Depression?”

Clint got two sentences into a rambling explanation of the Great Depression before Loki stopped him and told him he didn’t care. Clint snorted. “You two grew up almost as complete opposites,” Clint remarked after setting down the necklace and picking up the bracelet. “He grew up dirt poor and you grew up in a literal palace. No wonder he had such a hard time understanding it. It’s probably a bigger culture shock than waking up in the future.”

“He seems to have grown used to it.”

“Luxury can be hard to get used to,” Clint reminded him. “If you’ve never known it, it can be hard. But Cap’s adaptable. He’s good at stuff like that. He stays mostly with the Einherjar, which is something he knows, and he’s doing those lessons with Sif, which I think is helping a lot.”

“Good,” Loki replied. “What is he doing with the Einherjar today?”

“I heard something about a hunt,” Clint replied, and gathered up the leaf jewelry to carefully put it all away in Loki’s jewelry box.

“Hmm. Hopefully they’ll bring back bear.”

Clint grinned at him. “I might’ve mentioned it.” Loki smirked in reply and then watched as Clint moved around the room, picking things up as he went. His hand paused over the ruby-hilted dagger and then he picked it up and slid it back onto his belt where it belonged.

 _It is particularly cruel to use one’s own weapon against them,_ Loki offered up, _and I apologize again for that._

 _Don’t worry about it,_ Clint said, shaking his head. _And please stop apologizing, it’s making me feel weird. And not the good kind of weird. You know you never need to apologize to me. And at the very least, it made you aware the Soul Stone was doing something to me that you hadn’t fixed yet._

 _Were_ you _aware that something was wrong?_ Loki questioned sharply. _Did you know and not say anything?_

Clint shook his head. _I thought it was just remnants from my soul being screwed up. I didn’t realize it was something else. I would’ve said something if I thought it was something new._ He paused, tried to collect his thoughts. _You never actually said what the new brands are from._

Loki smiled and held out his hand, palm up. Clint moved in closer and put his hand in Loki’s. Loki tugged him closer and Clint went to his knees at his feet. Loki reached down and tugged Clint’s shirt open, traced over the brand on his breastbone, traced over the brand on Clint’s palm. _Seidr is a possessive thing,_ he replied. _And you are all seidr, aren’t you? Seidr owns and changes and creates. It twists and manipulates and changes you in its image. Perhaps it was merely coincidence, but I think not, that my runes appeared after you fully took another lover inside of you. You belong to me, after all, and our bond must keep you and others aware of that._ Loki cupped Clint’s jaw and tilted his head up, looking over his face slowly and carefully, trying to capture his visage in his mind. _If it was sexual, it would brand your genitalia. It would perhaps even remove them or render you unable to feel anything other than my touch._

Clint looked up, looked at Loki the same way Loki was looking at him, like if he looked away, he’d fade into dust. _I never worried about that,_ Clint murmured. _We know what it is. I feel better, more like myself. I didn’t realize how bad it was until you fixed it._

Loki smiled down at him but then looked up as someone knocked on the door to their rooms. Clint scrambled to his feet and jogged over to pull the door open, revealing a servant, who said, “Heimdall wishes to speak with you, your Highness.”

Clint nodded and thanked them and then shut the door, turning back to Loki with a raised eyebrow. Loki sighed dramatically and then hauled himself off the couch, stripping down and tossing his clothes all over the room. Clint rolled his eyes and followed Loki back into the bedroom, helping him dress in more formal attire. Loki waved his hand over Clint and he was refreshed and clothed in more appropriate wear, and then after making sure they were each ready and properly dressed, Clint opened the door for Loki and they walked through the halls to the Bifrost bridge.

The walk to the Observatory was quiet and calm. Clint looked out over the great waters, up at the sky above, back at the golden palace shining and glittering in the sun. They walked past the place where Thor had broken the bridge, where he and Loki had fallen, and then past that, where Thor had met his end. There was no visible mark, nothing in remembrance of Thor, but they both knew where it was anyway.

Heimdall waited for them in the doorway, hands clasped around Hofund’s hilt.

Loki inclined his head to the Gatekeeper. “Heimdall,” he greeted, escorting Clint into the Observatory. “What news do you have?”

“Thanos grows ever closer to Midgard,” Heimdall replied, stepping up next to Clint as he looked out over the stars beyond Asgard. “My estimation is that they have no more than two months. Perhaps less.”

Loki blinked a few times. “Two months?” he repeated incredulously.

“Yes, Sire.”

He’d known it would come soon, he merely hadn’t expected _this_ soon. His guess would’ve been six months at the minimum.

He looked out over the stars and the space beyond, thought about Thanos, traveling relentlessly through space, thought about destiny, thought about things coming full circle. “It is inevitable, I suppose,” he murmured, “and we will meet him.”

“What will you do?” Heimdall inquired, and Loki looked out over the stars for another minute before turning back to him.

He smiled. “Go to war.”

* * *

Loki awoke to a mouth moving over the back of his neck. He stiffened and then recognized Steve’s hands on his hips, and then he relaxed, slumping into Steve’s touch. _Captain,_ he murmured, _I’m meant to be resting._

 _You can rest after I’m done with you,_ Steve replied, mouth curling into a smile. _I won’t see you for over a month. Let me show you how much I’ll miss you._

Loki turned over onto his back, Steve leaning down to kiss him. _How do you want me?_ Loki asked. _Unconscious? Paralyzed? How may I best serve you, my Captain?_

Steve pulled back, reaching down to stroke over Loki’s cock. _Summon the jewelry I gave you, and your helm and the most expensive fur you own._ Loki raised his eyebrows at the peculiar request but did as asked, both of them catching his jewelry box and his helm and a fur as he summoned them into the room. Loki settled his crown on his head and Steve gently and carefully put the leaf jewelry on him, looking down at him with soft eyes. He set the jewelry box on the nightstand and then lifted Loki up to settle the fur behind him. Steve traced over the jewels embedded in the edges of it. _Who gave this to you?_

 _Thor, of course, Loki replied. It is a bear he killed for me._ Lok’s long fingers traced over the gold thread embroidered over the edges, over the emerald-encrusted clasp, over the diamond and gold lined hood. _It is worth more than Clint’s house, and likely even more than that gaudy tower of Stark’s. I have more expensive items of clothing, but this is the most expensive fur._

Steve sat back and looked down at him. Loki looked like a holy prince, as if he was looking down at Steve as he was a returning warrior, bringing him spoils of war. He was settled back against his fur, propped up against the pillows, all pale skin and delicate jewelry, cock half hard and laying against his thigh. He was so goddamn beautiful it made Steve’s heart hurt. He surged forward, hands finding Loki’s shoulders, holding him down as Steve ravaged his mouth. Loki kissed back just as strongly, just as harsh, teeth clicking and grinding, until Steve gentled him down again.

 _You are so beautiful,_ Steve murmured, mouth slipping down Loki’s neck, leaving marks as he traveled slowly and carefully down Loki’s body. He bit as Loki’s nipples, smiling at Loki’s gasps, holding him down when Loki tried to touch him in return. _Stay put,_ Steve ordered gently but firmly. _Just let me take care of you._

 _Of course, my Captain,_ Loki replied, relaxing back further into the pillows, spreading his legs out further, resting his arms out over the pillows to give Steve as much access as he could. Steve touched him like he wasn’t certain he would ever see Loki again, as if Loki could disappear out from underneath him. _You are being remarkably gentle._

 _You deserve gentleness,_ Steve told him, kissing Loki’s belly button. _Sometimes I think we get so caught up in kink or how extreme we can push ourselves that we don’t focus on each other. All I ever wanted was you. Even when I didn’t know you, I wanted you. I trusted you from the start. When I was young, before the serum, I used to imagine the person I’d spend the rest of my life with. Someone who would fight battles alongside me, someone who would curl up under the blankets with me when we couldn’t afford heat, someone who would take care of me when I was sick and I could take care of them when they were sick._

Loki’s head fell back as Steve’s mouth moved over his chest and collarbones. _Was this not Bucky?_ he questioned softly. _He did not give that to you?_

Steve shook his head and settled in between Loki’s thighs, activating the Power Stone and reaching down to wrap his hand around Loki’s half hard cock. _Not the way you have,_ Steve replied, smiling as Loki waved his fingers and Steve’s fingers were immediately slicked up. Loki lazily pumped his hips up into Steve’s grasp as Steve looked down at him, all the love in the world in his eyes. _We don’t need to talk about him right now. I want to talk about you._

 _Oh,_ Loki murmured with a slow, sultry smile, _if you must._

 _I must,_ Steve replied, and leaned down for a kiss. Loki opened easily for him, breathing quickening as his dick hardened as Steve expertly worked him over. Steve’s free hand slipped down to roll Loki’s testicles in his fingers, and then slid down further to press his thumb against Loki’s hole. _Whenever I think I loved someone else, I just have to look at you and everything I thought pales in comparison._ He slid out his thumb and then pushed two fingers inside of Loki, flexing and searching for the spot that had Loki tense and had his eyes roll back in his head. _You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen._

Steve slid his fingers out of Loki and then smoothed them over the god’s body, leaving traces of lubricant on Loki’s pale skin. Green eyes watched him, waiting, and Loki barely reacted as Steve’s fingers caught on what he was searching for: the glamour hiding Loki’s true form. Steve tugged at it and when Loki didn’t stop him, pulled it off completely, dropping the seidr to the floor beside the bed. All Loki did was wiggle his fingers to make sure the glamour didn’t disappear and then he watched Steve, so careful and so cautious even after knowing and trusting Steve as much as he did. 

There were slight differences in Loki’s Aesir form and his Jotun form. The skin and eye color were obvious, but Steve had never gotten quite this close of a look. He watched, enraptured, as Loki’s belly button disappeared, as his nipples changed shape, as his face elongated slightly to accommodate his longer and sharper teeth, as his cock changed shape, as his hair changed texture but stayed the same color and length. Loki was still sprawled along the pillows, just like a god staring down at his subjects, like everything Steve had ever wanted in his life with or without realizing it, and Steve leaned up and kissed him like they were going to die the next day. 

_You are so beautiful,_ Steve gasped as Loki’s mouth opened for him, as his tongue slid inside and explored, as Loki slowly grew comfortable and playfully nipped at Steve with his sharp teeth. Loki was cool, but not uncomfortably so, and Steve’s hand slid down again to wrap around his cock. Even in this different form, it was familiar, a weight Steve knew well. Loki’s testicles were smaller, up tight against his body, and when Steve pressed up against them, they slid inside of him, Loki throwing his head back and letting out a loud moan. 

_It must be for sperm retention,_ Loki gasped out, like Steve cared at all. _Jotunheim is too cold for sperm to survive outside the body._ Whatever the reason, it made Loki quiver as Steve pushed his testicles up into the small cavity, and then he slid his fingers back down, butting up against Loki’s hole. Even in this form, Loki’s body knew him, opened for him, pulled his fingers in like Loki needed him inside. 

Loki was warmer inside than Steve would’ve expected, but he was still a bit cooler than his Aesir form, and Steve’s cock throbbed at the thought of seating himself inside. _Give me more slick,_ he growled, and Loki fucking whimpered, sagging back, and Steve glanced up to see something he’d missed before: horns. 

Loki had horns. He’d seen horns on Laufey and Byleistr and Helblindi, of course, as well as various other Jotun, but he’d never seen Loki with them. They were small, only a few inches long, perhaps because Loki was young or perhaps because of the glamour, and Steve reached up with his free hand to touch them, still slowly fucking Loki with his other hand, fingers freshly slicked up. Loki’s horned helm had fallen to the side when Steve had pulled off the glamour and he didn’t fail to notice the similarities between Loki’s adornment and his true form. 

Loki knew what he was looking at, of course, but chose not to comment on it. Instead, he looked down at Steve, red eyes flickering over his body, and then Loki said, _If you don’t fuck me, I’m going to conjure up a—_

Steve hiked Loki’s thighs up over his hips and took himself in hand as he slid home. The two of them let out identical, simultaneous groans, Steve’s head falling forward to rest against Loki’s. _I meant it,_ Steve told him, adjusting his grip on Loki’s hips so he could lower the god deeper onto his cock. _I meant it that my life had led to you. I’ve done good in the world, and I’d do it all again, but you’re my reason why._

Loki’s eyes fluttered as Steve’s hips moved, slowly and surely fucking into him, Loki staying still, cock hard against his stomach, leaking pre-come. Steve reached down to slick up his fingers and brought the pre-come up to his mouth to sniff it and taste it. _You taste different in this form,_ Steve murmured with a slow smile, and Loki whimpered.

 _Oh?_ Loki replied breathlessly. _How so?_

 _Like wind and sleet and snow,_ Steve told him, dropping his hand back to Loki’s thigh to tilt his hips up. _Like you were made for me._

 _Wasn’t I?_ Loki asked. _I certainly feel like I was made for your cock, my Captain._

Steve folded him in half, pressed his thighs up to his chest, and Loki whined out as Steve fucked the breath out of him, rising up onto his knees for better leverage. Sweat dripped onto Loki’s body as Steve loomed over him and used him, as Steve served his god. Steve slung one of Loki’s long legs over his shoulder and dropped a hand to Loki’s cock, slicking it up with his pre-come, and Loki shivered under him, throwing his head back, horns hitting the headboard.

Steve looked down at him and paused for a moment, just taking in the sight. This is what he’d wanted, the sight of Loki sprawled out and looking at Steve like he was there solely for Loki’s pleasure. The thought had heat swirling through Steve’s body and he held Loki tighter, stroked him faster and surer, thumb swirling around the head of Loki’s cock, and with a grunt, they came at the same time, Steve filling Loki full and Loki spurting over his stomach and chest.

Steve waited for the shivers to stop and he gently pulled out of Loki, lowering his legs and hips back down to the bed. Loki stretched and Steve leaned down to kiss him gently and softly, cradling his jaw in his hands. Loki pressed up into him and Steve pressed back, pushed Loki back down into the pillows. _Let me take care of you,_ he said, and pulled back, sliding out of bed to get a washcloth from the bathroom. He looked back and smiled at seeing Loki still relaxed, lounging comfortably on the bed.

He hurried back and cleaned Loki up, wiped himself off, and Loki disappeared the washcloth with a wave of his hand as he leaned back against the pillows next to him. Steve leaned his head back against Loki’s arm and stared up at the ceiling. _I’m going to miss you,_

 _And I you, my Captain. But it will only be for a month or so at most._ Loki’s arms wrapped around Steve’s shoulders and Steve turned into him, resting his head on Loki’s chest, closing his eyes. _We will be as quick as we can and we’ll send armies to you once we speak to their leaders. Balder is already having temporary housing put together for the armies upon Asgard before they go to Midgard. I have faith in you._

Steve smiled, pressed a kiss to Loki’s chest. _We’ll be fine,_ Steve assured him. _I have all of Asgard behind me. You just have Clint._

Loki considered that and then his mouth curled in a sharp-toothed smile. _I have the soldier that our King would trust to keep him alive over anyone else. I believe I’ll be fine._

Steve chuckled. _Yeah, you’re in good hands._

 _One would hope,_ Loki agreed, and with a wave of his hand, turned off the lights and snuffed out the candles. He and Steve curled together under the furs and the covers, Steve exploring the heritage marks on Loki’s skin with his fingers, and Loki’s mouth curled up in a small, secret smile.

* * *

Clint stared at his phone, arguing silently with himself over which one of them to call. He desperately wanted to talk to Laura, but he always wanted to talk to her. He also wanted to talk with Stephen, and he thought talking with Stephen about the potential end of the world was more pressing. It wasn’t like he could only call one of them, anyway, but he was tired, and they had an early morning.

He sighed and dialed Stephen’s name, putting his phone on speaker and scrubbing his hands over his face. His ears kind of hurt. The ringing only made it worse.

“Clint?” Stephen’s low voice came through the tinny speaker. “Aren’t you in Asgard? How are you calling me?”

Clint snorted. “Loki can make a phone work wherever he wants,” he replied, a smile in his voice. “Even a Starkphone.”

He could hear the smile in Stephen’s voice as he asked, “What do you need from me?”

“Heimdall told us Thanos is no more than two months from Earth,” Clint told him. He expected the silence Stephen gave him. “I’d appreciate it if you told the rest of the Avengers, but you can really do whatever you want with that information.”

“I’ll call Stark and Wilson tomorrow,” Stephen told him, voice muted. “I’ll have to go to Kamar Taj. What are you doing?”

Clint kicked back on the couch, toed off his boots, dropped his phone on his chest, and looked up at the ceiling. Back in the bedroom, Loki and Steve were getting hot and heavy. It was strange to feel it, now that he could block it again; the arousal was muted, but he could push open that door if he wished and it’d flood him. “We’re leaving tomorrow. Going through the Nine Realms. Midgard—Earth, I mean, will be our last stop.”

“Good,” Stephen sighed. He cleared his throat awkwardly and Clint smiled a bit. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Clint replied quietly. “Will you check in on Laura and the kids for me? You can stay in Loki’s rooms if you want, or with Laura. I, uh, sorry I won’t get to say goodbye before we head out.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Stephen assured him. “Thanks for telling me about Thanos.”

“Of course.” Clint shifted uncomfortably. “I’d rather hear your voice anyway. I’m not sure I’ll have my phone on me, but at my house, if you go into Loki’s rooms, there’s a bundle of dried flowers on one of the shelves. Loki tied a bit of seidr around them and if you pick them up, he’ll be able to tell. If you need me, just do that, and we can come to Earth. Laura also knows how to get a hold of me in an emergency.”

“What do you think is going to happen?”

Clint sighed. “I don’t know, Stephen. I just have to be prepared for anything. Um, he probably doesn’t want me to tell you this, but Loki tied wards to the shield that the three Sanctum Sanctorum’s hold up around Earth.”

Stephen chuckled. “I’m fairly sure we were already aware, but I’ll make sure tomorrow. What kind of wards?”

“I know one was for Thanos, to warn Loki if he got within a certain distance of the planet. I think he just added some protection wards as well. Regular stuff. You’ll get a good idea when you look at them. I had the idea for it, actually, that night that you met Laura.”

“Are you not telling me the types of wards for a reason or because you actually forgot?”

Clint grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was technically there while I was casting the wards, I may have just not been paying attention.”

“You may be the only being on Earth that would see tremendous feats of magic and not be interested enough to remember what exactly was being cast.”

“I see tremendous feats of magic every day! He was piggybacking off your spells anyway, which is even less interesting. Not that I’d tell him that. But he didn’t try to hide it or anything, so it wasn’t like he didn’t want you guys to know.”

“He just didn’t care,” Stephen finished. Clint snorted.

“Yeah, he’s still pretty apathetic about your skills,” Clint admitted. “After Thanos, I think you two should spar again.”

“I actually was thinking about that,” Stephen admitted. “I think I have a better idea of his fighting style now. Will you tell me—”

“I’ll stop you right there, Doc,” Clint interrupted. “You gotta know I’m not going to give you any tips or anything.”

“Oh, you know I had to try,” Stephen teased. “Not even a hint?”

“You’d have to do something _really_ special to earn that,” Clint told him, pitching his voice low and sultry, and he could almost hear Stephen’s shiver. “You take care of my wife and I’ll think about it.”

Stephen's voice dropped into a growl. “Oh, I’ll take care of her, don’t you worry.” There was a small pause, and then Stephen asked, “Are your kids going to think it’s weird that I’m around?”

Clint chuckled. “Naw. There’s been folks in and out of that house for years.” He sat up a little. “Hey, let me ask you a question.”

“Sure.”

“Barnes basically lives at my house half the time. He has a permanent room there, Loki keyed him into the wards, all that jazz. You’re not going to have a problem with that, right? With what he did while HYDRA had him?”

Stephen didn’t hesitate at all. “Of course not, Clint. I have no recourse to judge him, let alone anyone else.”

Clint let out a sigh of relief. “I know you’ve talked to him already, I just wanted to make sure. He’s had a rough go of it, I just don’t want it to get any rougher.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Clint grinned. “Yeah, Doc, I know you will.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll talk to you later, alright? I want to call Laura before I head to bed.”

“Of course. Good luck, Clint, and goodnight.”

“Thanks, Doc. I’ll talk to you later.”

He ended the call and sighed, then hit Laura’s contact name and dialed her, putting the phone on speaker again. It rang a few times and then Laura’s voice came through, tired and sleepy and Clint smiled softly.

“Hi, hon,” he greeted gently.

“Clint? Everything alright?”

“Yeah, it’s all fine. Don’t worry. I, uh, just wanted to tell you that Loki and I are leaving tomorrow. We’ll be back in a month or two.”

“Oh?” Laura yawned and Clint could hear her moving around in bed. “Thanks for letting me know, honey. I’ll miss you. The kids will miss you. Do you need anything? You okay?”

“No, I’m alright. I just wanted to hear your voice.”


	14. chapter thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Politics and plans aside, everyone begins to prepare for Thanos.

Clint took a picture of the sun rising over Asgard and sent it to Laura and Stephen, both with the caption, _Miss you. See you on the other side._ and then turned his phone off and sent it into a pocket dimension. He jogged to keep up with Loki, who was walking quickly down the Bifrost bridge, all the colors of the Bifrost reflecting off his pale skin, and Loki cast him an amused glance as Clint came abreast with him. 

_Are you ready?_ Loki queried, quirking an eyebrow.

_I’m always ready, boss. I think the real question is, are you ready?_

_If you are always ready, then it must be assumed I am always ready. So, yes._

Clint rolled his eyes. _I don’t know how you manage to make funny shit so boring._

_It is a gift._

_Oh, it’s sure something alright._

They stopped a few yards away from the Observatory, where Heimdall and Steve were waiting, where their future was up to them, where Thanos was out in the deep dark, hunting them. Loki turned to look back at Asgard. Clint turned with him. _I’m going to miss it,_ Loki admitted to him and only him. There were small things between them, secrets, things that were so intimate and guarded that they could never tell anyone else. Clint was the recipient of so many of these things from Loki that he wouldn’t know what to do without them.

Clint nodded. _Me too. But we’ll be back._

_Yes, after we visit seven other Realms,_ Loki groused, and with a brush of his hand over Clint’s shoulders, they walked back into the Observatory, greeting Heimdall and Steve. Loki inclined his head to the Gatekeeper.

“Where to first?” Heimdall asked.

“Have you already sent Byleistr?” Loki asked, and Heimdall nodded in the affirmative.

“Last night,” Heimdall clarified.

“Good. Then we go to Jotunheim first.”

Steve stepped forward and his face creased into a gentle smile. Loki did not quite know what to say, given that Steve already knew everything there was to be said, so he merely held out a hand. Steve’s eyes sparkled as he gently clasped Loki’s fingers with his own and then he bent over Loki’s hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Be safe,” he said softly after straightening up, and he squeezed Loki’s hand gently and firmly before dropping it. Steve patted Clint on the shoulder and then left the Observatory, walking quickly back towards Asgard. Loki watched him go for a long moment before turning back to Heimdall.

Heimdall sheathed Hofund inside the Bifrost, and both Clint and Loki looked one last time at Asgard before the Bifrost sent them away. They landed at the edge of a massive ice field, Jotunheim’s palace shining in the sun off in the distance, and Loki shuddered, opening a pocket dimension and pulling out a massive fur.

“Remember when you dragged me here once and made me stand outside for 45 minutes?”

“I still have that safehouse,” Loki mused. “Perhaps we will stop by before we leave.” He wrapped the fur around himself—it was not the wolf fur Thor had gifted to him in another life, but it was just as warm—and then he sighed at Clint’s dramatic shivering and pulled another fur out for him as well. He carefully wrapped it around Clint’s shoulders and then pulled the hood down over his face and shoved Clint back into the snow.

Clint yelped and thrashed under the fur and the snow, then managed to pull himself out, scowling as he wiped the snow off and tugged at his clothes to get it out from underneath. “Jackass,” he muttered, moving after Loki as he walked. “If the snow ruins these clothes you’re gonna be pissed and I don’t want to deal with that.”

Loki made an amused sound and Clint rolled his eyes, fixing his clothes as they came closer to the palace. It looked the same as it had when Thor had brought him here, all that time ago, with long pillars of ice holding up a flat roof that stretched off far into the distance. Two Jotnar greeted them outside and Loki inclined his head to them, sliding his hand over the back of Clint’s neck as the first Jotun told them that Laufey waited inside for them.

“Thank you,” Loki murmured, and the taller of the two opened the door for them. Loki let Clint pull away from him and walk in behind him, Loki clasping his hands behind his back as he sauntered inside. It was a bit warmer inside, but they both stayed wrapped in their furs. The palace was long, and the throne room was far away, but they walked together.

Laufey waited for them in the throne room, lounging across his throne like a great cat, and Loki paused, looking around at the decorative pillars carved into animals and creatures and other Jotun, and behind them, huge paintings of everything from battle to meals to Jotun that were clearly related to Laufey. Laufey straightened up in his throne and waved them closer. Loki inclined his head to the King as they stopped at the bottom of his throne.

“King,” he greeted. “You look well.”

“And I am,” Laufey agreed, standing up and coming down the stairs to greet them on the same level. He glanced at Clint and then rested a massive hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Loki.” Loki tipped his head back and looked up at him, searched his face, those old blood eyes, that dark blue skin. “Welcome home.”

Loki smiled slightly. “Would you believe that you are not the first King to say that to me recently?”

“One such as yourself has more than one home,” Laufey replied. His eyes moved to Clint. “May I speak to it?”

“Very well,” Loki demurred, turning his head and raising an eyebrow at Clint, who just sent him a mental shrug and looked up at Laufey, who dropped his hand from Loki’s shoulder and bent over to look at Clint face to face.

“I say welcome home to you as well, human. Anyone as important to the High Seats of Asgard as you is fully welcome in Jotunheim.”

Clint nodded. “Thank you, King, for your welcome.”

Laufey nodded his great, massive head, and then looked back at Loki. “Come. We have a meal waiting for us.” He led them down the hall out of the throne room and to a small banquet hall, where Byleistr and Helblindi were waiting for them. The brothers both stood and moved over to them, greeting their father first before greeting Loki and then Clint. Byleistr couldn’t seem to restrain himself and hugged Loki tightly before embarrassingly stepping back and dropping his head. Loki indulgently rolled his eyes and sat at Laufey’s left hand, not arguing when Byleistr sat next to him instead of across the table next to Helblindi. Clint took up his post behind Loki and took food from the servants to fill Loki’s plate for him. The table was sized up for Jotun but Clint conjured himself up a seidr platform and stood upon it so he could watch.

The three of them talked quietly as they ate. They talked about Steve, about Loki becoming Balder’s mage, about politics on Jotunheim and Asgard, and Loki watched amusedly as Byleistr energetically talked about his duties under Balder. The young Jotun was certainly fit for an advisory position and told his father and brother no more than what Loki would have said in his place. It was very clear that Helblindi missed his brother but they were all royalty and understood that duty often came before family. Laufey asked about Steve and after Loki told him about what Steve and Carol were doing in Asgard, Laufey nodded and turned to Clint, asking him about his family. Loki noticed Helblindi and Byleistr exchange faintly impressed looks and then he motioned for Clint to sit next to him. Clint took his seat and at Laufey’s nod, filled his own plate.

“I have three children,” Clint began, chewing on some fish. He had Loki’s predilection for raw fish and could never seem to get enough of it. “Two boys and a girl. I’ve been married for going on, what, twenty-five years now? And I have a...partner.”

“Oh?” Laufey questioned.

Clint nodded, shifting uncomfortably. He glanced at Loki and then rubbed over the brand on his chest. Loki patted his leg. “My wife invited the Sorcerer Supreme to our bed. You remember him? He was at the Idavollr.”

Laufey nodded. “Are triads common on Midgard?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” Clint shrugged one shoulder. “What about on Jotunheim? I’m not...really up to date on the customs here.”

Helblindi answered for his father, saying, “I believe it differs by relationship. I know of a few triads, and one foursome, but it is relatively uncommon. We bond for life and it is difficult to stray, but those bonds can and do occasionally include another partner.” He motioned between Loki and Clint. “There are relationships such as yours, which are also very common. We call them _hafamagr_ in your tongue.”

Clint nodded immediately, Loki nodding along at the same time. “Yeah, shield-brothers. We have the same thing. Two Aesir that put each other above anyone else with a bond made in battle.”

Loki reached across the table to pull over a serving plate and filled both his and Clint’s plate with cold, fresh fish, nudging for Clint to eat. Once Clint started, Loki looked back to Laufey, who picked up his chalice and took a sip of his wine. “Byleistr offered to show me around your realm,” Loki said, stopping himself from bodily moving Clint behind him and instead reaching over a hand and resting it on the back of Clint’s neck. Clint shifted his weight to lean into Loki’s grasp. “I believe that I will have to pass on such an offer until after we have defeated Thanos, sadly enough.”

Laufey shrugged one massive shoulder. “I have no doubts that you will not succeed, Loki. You are very powerful and intelligent and if there is anyone who can best Thanos in battle, it is you and your husband and your pet.”

Loki’s hand tightened on the back of Clint’s neck and the gold snake responded to his discomfort, tightening slowly. “We technically already beat him once,” Loki murmured, trying to keep the smug smile off his face. “We met him upon Vormir and Natigus kicked him off a cliff.”

To Clint’s delight, Byleistr’s face turned purple at the mention of Natigus, and he smiled secretly to himself. At Loki’s questioning look, he shook his head. The conversation turned from Thanos to the Infinity Stones and then back to Stephen Strange and Carol Danvers. They spoke for long enough that they all filled their stomachs and servants came to take the empty plates away, replacing them with peculiar fruits that neither Loki nor Clint recognized but were delicious anyway. They were soon escorted to a guest room and Loki said that they would speak to the armies and their generals and captains in the morning.

Clint opened a pocket dimension and pulled out Loki’s sleeping clothes before undressing him. The guest room was down the hall from the royal quarters and all three of them had told them to come to their doors if they needed anything. Loki was unused to such hospitality but was doing his best in dealing with it. Clint laid Loki’s clothes out on the giant bed—the guest rooms were Jotun-sized, of course, so everything was at least twice as large as they were used to—and then they went into the bathroom together. They both raised their eyebrows at the size of the bathtub and Clint immediately stripped down and joined Loki in it. They could both stand at the bottom of the tub and still be fully underwater when it was full.

_I’ll be asking Balder for a bathroom remodel once this is all done,_ Loki commented after the tub was full and they were both soaking in the hot water. He twirled his fingers and the snake around Clint’s neck animated and untwisted from around his neck and then floated around in the water. Clint chased it around for a minute and then put it on the edge of the tub, petting the small head with his soapy fingers. _It’s rather indulgent, isn’t it?_

_Just your style,_ Clint chuckled. _Surprised you don’t already have one._

They both floated in comfortable silence for awhile, and then Loki questioned, _Why did Byleistr grow uncomfortable when Natigus was mentioned?_

Clint straightened up and grinned. _He’s got a cru-ush,_ he sing-songed. _He thinks the big ole fire giant is cute. I’m gonna tell him to go for it, I think._

_Does Natigus share the same sentiment?_

Clint rolled his eyes. Weirdo. _Probably not,_ he shrugged. _He’s a fire giant, Byleistr is a frost giant. But there’s no harm in saying anything, and I think Natigus is the type of guy who would at least go on a date with him. He’s kinda the strong, silent type, y’know?_

Loki made a curious noise. _He’s very kind,_ he noted. _And brave. I suppose I could understand the attraction if I did not already have a husband of my own who was far braver and more kind and far stronger._

Clint sunk under the water. _Let me drown so I don’t have to keep hearing you moon over Cap. I’m deaf and I still gotta hear it._

Loki chuckled and reached out to push Clint further under the water, threading his hand through Clint’s hair. _Oh, surely it is enough recompense for you carrying on about Stephen during dinner. Telling us how strong and powerful he is, perhaps you should’ve just begun masturbating right there in front of them._

Clint swatted Loki’s hand out of his hair and came up for air, laughing as he did. _I was just answering Laufey’s question! He was just curious._ He paused, wiped some water out of his eyes, and looked at Loki across the tub. _He cares about you, you know. He’s just trying to be friendly. I think he doesn’t have any care about Thanos and he’s doing all of this to get closer to you. He let Balder have his son after meeting you, you know. That’s pretty big stuff for someone like him._

Loki considered all of that. He’d had similar thoughts, of course, and was unsure how to proceed with Laufey. He was barely comfortable with Balder’s open affection towards him, and that was someone he had actively worked towards putting in his position; Laufey was completely new and Loki had no frame of reference for how to proceed. He would deal with it after Thanos. They had far bigger priorities than his uncomfortable and awkward relationship with his birth father.

He motioned Clint closer and Clint pushed off the side of the tub to curl into Loki’s side, tipping his head against Loki’s shoulder as Loki’s arm wrapped around him. He could feel Loki’s humming deep in his chest and closed his eyes. _How have you been feeling?_ Loki murmured into his mind. _You seem back to yourself._

_Yeah,_ Clint replied tiredly. _My stamina isn’t quite up to normal, but I’m feeling better. My mind isn’t so screwed up. _He reached around and caught Loki’s free hand in his. _Will you check? I feel better when you’re in there.___

___Of course,_ Loki replied as he helped Clint out of the bath. Clint yawned and got Loki a towel, patting him dry before drying himself, and with a wave of Loki’s hand, the massive bathtub began to drain. Loki opened a pocket dimension and pulled out a few vials of lotion, floating them in the air so Clint could begin to apply it to Loki’s skin. Loki conjured up a small cushioned bench for him to sit on while Clint knelt in front of him to put lotion on Loki’s feet and legs. Loki summoned the gold snake and threaded it through his fingers as Clint pulled him to his feet and turned him around to put lotion on his back._ _

__Once they were finished, Loki pulled Clint out of the bathroom and the two of them dressed themselves and then curled up in the unreasonably large bed together. Clint curled around Loki, head to his chest, and Loki slid down the bridge between their minds, moving around to look at everything while Clint shadowed behind him._ _

___How does it look?_ Clint asked, looking around. It looked fine to him, but Loki was a bit more exacting and particular than he was. Loki looked around, wearing a trailing robe that Clint had to work not to step on, eyes flicking over every single inch of Clint’s mind. They walked down the hall and Loki waved his hand, the door to the memory room opening silently. He looked around and then pulled one of the drawers open, fingers flicking through Clint’s memories. Clint sat on the floor at Loki’s feet and closed his eyes while Loki made sure everything was in order. _ _

___It looks acceptable,_ Loki said a few minutes later, closing the cabinet and turning to look down at Clint. _You have healed well from the Soul Stone’s encroachment into your mind._ He pulled Clint to his feet and pulled him back into the main room, sitting in one of the thrones to watch the galaxy of memories swirl past. Clint knelt at his feet, eyes fluttering shut, as Loki pet his hair and watched the world swirl past. _You still have a bit of healing to go but I see no further harm has been done.__ _

___Good,_ Clint replied around a yawn. He’d been feeling off-center and unsettled all day, and this was the first time he really felt like himself. He leaned heavily against Loki’s legs and wrapped Loki’s robe around his shoulders._ _

__Loki tugged affectionately at his hair and smiled to himself._ _

* * *

__Steve crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “That won’t do,” he told Carol, who pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. “I understand that formation has worked for you before, but it doesn’t work with the Aesir fighting style.”_ _

__“How can their fighting style be better than the Xorians? Or the Peblator? The Orega?”_ _

__“You’re definitely just making up random names to try and throw me off,” Steve replied, scratching at the slowly growing beard on his chin. Carol snorted. “You’ve fought with and against far more armies than I have, Carol, and that’s why you’re here, for your expertise. But I know the Einherjar and this kind of formation just won’t work.”_ _

__Carol sighed. “Alright, Cap, fine. What do you think instead?”_ _

__“Archers in back,” Steve replied. “They’re all proficient with long bows so we have ranged weaponry. We flank out heavy hitters on the sides to keep the outriders from circling around and getting to the seidrmadrs in the middle.” He turned and motioned to Natigus, who came forward. “What are the other Realms proficient in?”_ _

__Natigus sighed, letting out a small jet of flame. “Vanaheim is known for her barbarians, so they excel at brute force, and also great amounts of seidr. They have seidrmadrs that surpass almost all others in the Nine. Muspelheim and Jotunheim are known for their fire and frost giants respectively. Alfheim has few exceptional warriors, but they have many of them. Ranged weapons are their speciality. They have very skilled seidrmadrs and potion brewers. Niflheim has scientists and a very limited resource on warriors; they rely mostly on Asgard for protection from invaders or anyone that would potentially do them harm. Svartalfheim has mercenaries and they excel in more...underhanded techniques. You know more of Midgardian fighting styles than I do, and Helheim will bring dead from all realms, so we will have more of all types, of course.”_ _

__Steve considered all of that. “What do you think, Carol?” he asked._ _

__“Where’s Gamora?” she asked instead of saying anything, looking around the Einherjar on the training field around them. She beckoned one of them closer and asked for Gamora to be brought to them. They all stood in uncomfortable silence for the few minutes it took for Gamora to show up._ _

__“What?” Gamora asked. “I was in the middle of a knife throwing competition.” Steve had decided to bring her to Asgard and put her skills to use with the Einherjar. Gamora was skilled in battle and had well earned her reputation as the deadliest woman in the galaxy, but she was used to fighting by herself, not with an army._ _

__“What are these outriders weak against?” Carol asked her, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the small table they were all gathered around. Steve picked up a glass of water and took a sip._ _

__Gamora shrugged slightly, stiffly pushing her shoulders back. “Little,” she replied. “Even if they are weak, their numbers are too great for anything to truly stop them.”_ _

__“Fire or ice?” Carol pressed._ _

__“They are remarkably resistant to fire,” Gamora answered after thinking about it. “I have not seen them battle ice, but in thinking about it, I don’t believe Thanos ever sent them to a cold planet.”_ _

__Carol turned to look up at Steve. “So that’s what we do,” she said. “Heavies and Jotun in the front. Seidrmadrs behind them, archers in the back. We spread the heavies out off to the sides, put fire giants and Asgardians behind them.”_ _

__“Humans?” Steve asked. “Where are they?”_ _

__Carol considered that. “Interspersed, probably, with the ones who can fly up above. Put the mystic ones back with the seidrmadrs and they can open portals and send spells from back there.”_ _

__Steve considered that, flexing his right hand so little tendrils of power fluttered over his palm. He turned to Sif, raising an eyebrow at her. Sif sighed. “It sounds effective,” she replied to his unasked question. “You will have to clear it with the leaders of each army, but I can see no immediate needs for dissent.”_ _

__“Aren’t you supposed to be in charge of all of this?” Carol asked Steve. “Why does everyone have to okay it before we can approve this? We need to start training each faction for this plan; we don’t have time to approve everything with each realm before Thanos comes. For that matter, _why_ is Loki going to each realm?”_ _

__“Because he needs to thank each of the royal seats and speak to their generals and make certain they are ready for battle before sending them here. It’s kind of archaic but that’s how politics work when you live for a few thousand years; everything moves slower and is a lot more proper. He has worked tirelessly over the past few years to make certain that when Thanos does come to Earth that we will be ready. He does not need to train or prepare anything; he has been ready since the moment Thor brought him here. He trusts us to get these Einherjar ready for him and I do not intend to disabuse that trust.” Steve lifted his chin. “Loki has everything planned. I mean _everything._ Down to already putting spells in the uniform he wants me to wear when Thanos comes to Earth. This is the only chance we get, Carol, and we’re going to do it right.”_ _

__Carol nodded in agreement. “Of course,” she replied quickly. “I just...I have heard tales of Loki all throughout the galaxy. He is known as the Trickster for a reason. That is all.”_ _

__“If this was anything else, I would agree with you,” Steve told her with a quiet, tired chuckle. “Look, I’m married to him. I know his thoughts and his mind. I don’t have any qualms about this. But we have to trust him. We _have_ to. Otherwise, Thanos is going to vanish half of all life and it’ll be our fault because we didn’t stop him when we knew damn well he was coming. We have a duty here. You helped the Skrulls and took down the Supreme Intelligence because you had to right a wrong. That’s exactly what Loki wants to do too. He just goes about it in a way that most people don’t expect or understand.”_ _

__Sif snorted. “You can say that again,” she muttered amusedly. “Loki may not always have Asgard’s best interests at heart, but he surely does in this instance.”_ _

__Carol and Gamora both shrugged. “Fine,” Carol sighed. “I’ll trust him. I don’t like it, but I’ll trust him. Or, to be honest here, Cap, I’ll trust you.” She turned and looked up at Natigus and then back at everyone gathered around the small table. “That’s why we’re all here, right? Because of you, Captain. So, let’s get back to what matters. What’s next?”_ _

__Steve sighed. “Loki is almost done in Jotunheim. They’ll be sending the first Jotnar warriors here in the next few days. We have to start training the Einherjar with the Jotun so that everyone can get used to the differing fighting styles. It’ll be especially difficult for these two races because they’ve spent so many centuries fighting each other, so we’ll have to work on a lot of tension diffusing. I think it’ll be easier once they’ve fought alongside each other against a third faction, so maybe we’ll all team up and they’ll go against us.” He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”_ _

* * *

__Bucky looked up from staring at the grass as a cup of coffee was pushed right in front of his face. He took it gratefully and smiled slightly at Sam as he sat right next to him, sliding one warm hand over Bucky’s thigh. Bucky leaned into his side as he watched the sun continue to cover the dewy grass._ _

__“You alright?” Sam asked softly. “You didn’t come back to bed.”_ _

__Bucky sighed. “Can’t sleep,” he muttered, taking a sip of coffee. “Bad dreams.”_ _

__“We all get them,” Sam told him. They sat in silence for a few minutes and Bucky tried to gather up the courage to apologize for thinking so poorly of Sam and their relationship, but he couldn’t push the words out of his mouth. They felt stuck in his throat like taffy. But because he was Sam, because Bucky loved him more than he could say, Sam knew what he was thinking anyway. “You don’t have to apologize, you know.”_ _

__“But I _do,_ ” he bit out, turning to look Sam in the face. “You spend so much time doing good and all I’ve ever done is bad. I know it was just the potions but I can’t have anyone thinking bad of you, doll, much less me.”_ _

__“Doll?” Sam teased, a sly smile sliding over his face. Bucky ducked his chin and turned away. “Buck, I mean it. You don’t gotta apologize. Just promise you’ll _talk_ to me before it gets that bad again.”_ _

__Bucky nodded without looking at him. “What are we doing now?” he asked._ _

__“Just the two of us or us as a group? Because I was thinking breakfast and then we go to Asgard.”_ _

__“Should you talk to Stark?”_ _

__Sam shrugged one shoulder and flipped his hand over on Bucky’s thigh so Bucky could slide their palms together. Bucky curled his fingers around Sam’s after setting the cup of coffee on the arm of the bench they were sharing. “I’ll give him a call. He and Hawkeye can take care of anything that pops up. We should be fine going to Asgard for a few weeks, and I think you should take to Eir again.” He glanced over Bucky’s stiff form. “You not a fan of Hawkeye or not a fan of Asgard?”_ _

__Bucky stared at their hands twisted together, at the way he was holding onto Sam like a lifeline, like he’d fall down and never be able to get up without him. “Kate’s good people,” he finally muttered. “I just don’t trust her.”_ _

__“Oh?” Sam questioned, reaching across Bucky to snag his coffee and take a sip of it. Bucky rolled his eyes at him. Sam talked a big game about not liking cream in his coffee but always took Bucky’s. “Steve trusts her, and Stark trusts her. Same with SHIELD; both Fury and Coulson seem to think she’s competent. Hell, even Clint thinks she’s a good shot. So what is it?” When Bucky didn’t answer, Sam grinned at him. “You jealous asshole.”_ _

__“Hey!”_ _

__“Oh, what is it? You think I’d take a _kid_ over you, Buck? You think I want her watching my back over you? But she’s a damn fine shot and I trust her.”_ _

__They both looked up as an orange portal flickered and opened on the front lawn, and Stephen Strange stepped out, pausing at seeing the two of them on the porch. He gave them an uncomfortable wave and paused on the porch stairs. “Laura here?”_ _

__“Well, she lives here,” Bucky drawled, “so I’d hope so.”_ _

__“Hope that was her in the kitchen,” Sam added in with a grin. “Otherwise we got an invasion of the body-snatchers situation here and I’m not really prepared for that right now.”_ _

__Stephen rolled his eyes at the two of them and went inside without further comment. Bucky snorted. “Better Bishop than him,” he muttered._ _

__Sam chuckled. “Still don’t know what Clint even sees in him. He looks like an alien in a skin suit.”_ _

__“Maybe he’s the body-snatcher,” Bucky added, and Sam rolled his eyes and stood up, finishing his coffee._ _

__“Come on, let’s go eat breakfast.” Sam pulled Bucky to his feet and smiled at him, searching his face. Bucky leaned forward and kissed him, swiping his tongue along Sam’s lips and then pulling back. “Heimdall,” Sam called out, tearing his eyes away from Bucky’s face. “Can you tell Steve we’ll be there this afternoon?”_ _

__They waited and a minute later a raven swooped down and landed on the porch railing. It opened its mouth and Heimdall’s voice came out, “Prince Steve says, and I quote, ‘Get your asses out here,’ end quote.”_ _

__The raven took off and disappeared into the clouds. Bucky kissed Sam again and then pulled him inside. They went to help get the kids ready and cook breakfast and rag on Stephen for showing up late._ _

__“I’m just saying,” Bucky offered up with a poorly hidden smile while he helped Cooper pick out clothes, “that if you _really_ cared, you would’ve been here before she woke up. Helped her relax or something.”_ _

__Across the room where he was helping Lila brush her hair, Sam snorted. Stephen was making the kid’s beds for them and he shook his head at the two of them. “New York is an hour ahead,” he told them, “I have other duties than looking after Laura.”_ _

__“Not according to Clint you don’t,” Sam retorted, tying Lila’s hair up in a bun and winking at her. “You really want to ask him about it? I know how to get ahold of him if we need it, and I know he cares a lot about how well taken care of his wife is.”_ _

__“Daddy takes good care of mommy,” Lila offered up, pulling her hair out of the bun and glaring at Sam. “He doesn’t need any help.” Sam grinned at her and began to push her hair into sections to braid it, Lila nodding in agreement._ _

__“Hear that?” Bucky asked, pulling Cooper’s shirt on the boy and smoothing down his hair for him. He held out Cooper’s pants and the boy put them on himself, sending Bucky a sunny smile when he managed to do up the zipper and button by himself. Bucky gave him a high five and then told him to go downstairs for breakfast. “Sounds like Clint has a handle on things.”_ _

__Stephen waited until Lila’s hair was done and she went downstairs to say, “Clint doesn’t mind the way I handle anything, much less him or his wife.”_ _

__Bucky and Sam grinned at each other. “Oh?” Bucky asked, following them out of the bedroom. “I honestly can’t even imagine what Barton is like in bed.”_ _

__Stephen smiled nastily and Bucky laughed delightedly. “You leave that to me,” Stephen told him, and they all went downstairs to the kitchen, where Sam and Stephen sat with the kids and Bucky tried to help Laura cook but she was almost finished and ended up telling him to sit too._ _

__Breakfast was easy and comfortable. Bucky loved Clint’s house, loved the atmosphere, the way everything was calm and nothing was stressful and he was so happy to call this place home. He knew he was safe here, safer than anywhere else in the world. Even on Asgard he didn’t feel this safe. “Does he cry afterwards?” Bucky asked while dipping a bite of french toast in some syrup._ _

__“Sometimes,” Stephen replied, slowly cutting through his own french toast with a fork and knife like some kind of alien._ _

__Bucky nodded, as did Sam. “I always kinda felt like he’d be a crier,” Sam said._ _

__“What are you talking about?” Cooper asked. “Who cries?”_ _

__“No one, sweetie,” Laura told him, rolling her eyes at the three of them. “Eat your breakfast. That means all of you.” Sam and Bucky smiled at each other and obediently began tucking in. “He does cry, sometimes,” Laura told them once the kids seemed suitably distracted with their food, giving them all a wry grin. “When I’ve really put him through his paces.” Bucky chuckled at her and Sam snorted._ _

__Lila and Cooper talked to each other and Bucky watched them, wondered if he would’ve had any kids if HYDRA hadn’t found him, wondered how different his life would’ve been. He’d like kids, he thought. Maybe just one._ _

__Sam reached down the table and put his hand on Bucky’s knee and rubbed it a bit, as if knowing what he was thinking about. Later, once they were all done, Laura got Nate from upstairs and took the kids to school while the three of them cleaned up the kitchen, and then Sam and Bucky went upstairs to get dressed and pack. It didn’t take them long, and Bucky fiddled with the black stone that controlled the spell for his seidr arm. He looked down at it while Sam double checked that they hadn’t forgotten anything._ _

__Sam’s hand covered his and Bucky looked up at him. “You don’t have to use it, you know,” Sam told him, his voice soft._ _

__“I know,” Bucky replied quietly back. “I just...an arm makes me feel like I have to fight.”_ _

__Sam nodded. “There will be a fight,” Sam said. “But we’ll have time to get ready for it, and you don’t ever have to have the arm after that, not if you don’t want.”_ _

__Bucky looked at him, looked at his familiar, kind face, and nodded. God, he loved him. He sometimes felt overwhelmed with it, like it was so heavy and warm with it all that it felt like it would all bubble out of him and he’d be left cold and alone if Sam wasn’t there to catch him. So he just nodded and squeezed the black stone in his fist, the seidr arm extending out from his shoulder, and they both turned their heads to look at it. He curled the new hand into a fist and then slid the stone back into his pocket. “Alright, Sam,” he spoke up, “Let’s go to war.”_ _

* * *

__Steve, Sif, and Natigus were waiting for them in the Observatory, looking out over the stars. Heimdall slid Hofund out of the Bifrost and stepped back out of the way. Steve turned and smiled at them. He was wearing more traditional Asgardian clothes, with a heavy leather and bronze cuirass that was done up in red, white, and blue, leaving his arms bare. His legs were clad in leather pants with reinforced scale armor and he wore knee-high boots with integrated knee pads, similar to what Loki wore when he went into battle._ _

__“You look like a Prince,” Bucky chuckled, going in for a hug. “Surprised you haven’t grown your hair out yet.”_ _

__“Buck,” Steve said back as he stepped back and glanced over him. “You look good. The both of you.” He pulled Sam in for a one-armed hug and then introduced them both to Natigus and Sif. “I know you’ve already met them both, but never hurts anything.” He waved to Heimdall and escorted them out of the Observatory and back down the bridge. “Thanks, Heimdall.”_ _

__“Of course, Sire,” Heimdall called after them, turning back to his post._ _

__Sam moved up next to Bucky and took his hand as they walked. Sam had the shield on his back and he was trying to figure out whether or not he should offer it back to Steve, unsure if he even wanted to, but Steve barely glanced at it as he talked. “We have been training with the Einherjar and now the Jotun army. Loki is in Svartalfheim now and their armies will be here in the next few days. Do you two need any downtime or can you get straight to work?”_ _

__“What work?” Sam asked. “I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”_ _

__Steve shrugged a bit. “Training with us. Learn new skills. Things like that.” He looked over at Bucky and added, “I told Eir you were coming, she’s ready to talk whenever you need her. We’re going to ask you to train some, Buck, but no more than what you’re comfortable with. Talk to Eir first.” Steve motioned to the shield on Sam’s back. “I’m glad you brought that. Sif here didn’t believe a shield could be the only weapon someone needs.”_ _

__“I’ve seen him fight with just a shield,” Sif offered up, “but he tells me he is far more capable with that one.”_ _

__“I know it like the back of my hand,” Steve shrugged. He shot Sam a grin. “Hopefully Sam will let me use it.”_ _

__Sam smiled at him, picked the shield off his back, tossed it casually up in the air and caught it again. “I guess I could give you some pointers,” he drawled. “Figured you’re getting slow here in your old age.”_ _

__Natigus laughed at that, letting out a jet of flame. He reached over and patted Steve heavily on the back. “I enjoy watching you be teased, Prince,” he chuckled. “You are too serious. I believe one of the reasons you and Loki are so good for each other is that you can be such opposites. Ah, I miss him.” He shook his massive head and laughed again. “How is the Prince, by the way?”_ _

__Steve shrugged one shoulder. “Tired, mostly. He and Clint are busy and there’s a lot of politics they have to deal with, which is exhausting. But they’re moving through it, and there’s not really any big issues they’ve had to deal with yet, which they appreciate. But he’s well. He’s good.” He glanced over Natigus and then back to Sam and Bucky. “Natigus, why don’t you go tell Balder that Sam and Buck are here?” They stopped at the entrance to the palace and Natigus brightened and immediately walked off._ _

__Sif chuckled. “The King already knows of their arrival, Sire,” she told Steve, who shot her a sly grin._ _

__“Clint told me that Byleistr has a little hidden affection for the fire giant,” Steve chuckled. “I’m just doing my part to help the cause since Byleistr has returned from Jotunheim.” He looked to Sam and Bucky. “You two want to go get settled or go right to the training course?”_ _

__Sam flexed his fist around one of the straps of the shield. “I’d like to get straight to work,” he replied, looking at Bucky, who nodded._ _

__“I’m going to go talk to Eir,” Bucky said, holding his hand out for Sam’s bag. Sam brought it out of his pocket dimension and pulled out his uniform and shoved it in the bag that was carrying the EXO-7 harness before handing the bag over. He and Sam kissed each other before parting ways. A soldier opened the palace doors for Bucky and he walked through the vast, familiar halls up to the room he had stayed in before. He put their bags in and sat down on one of the settees in the parlor._ _

__A servant poked their head in. “Tea?” they asked, and Bucky sighed and nodded. A moment later, they came in and set a tea tray on one of the tables before asking if he needed anything else._ _

__“No, thanks,” Bucky said with a small smile, and they bowed slightly before leaving, shutting the door softly behind them. Bucky got up and poured himself some tea, nibbled on a few biscuits. He knew he was stalling, but he stalled some more by waiting for his tea to cool and slowly drinking it, one sip at a time._ _

__When the cup was empty, he left, walking through the halls and looking over the familiar engravings and paintings that lined the walls of Asgard’s palace. He stopped in front of a particularly large etching that depicted Thor, backed by various Einherjar, roaring in anger and charging down a group of Jotun._ _

__Someone stopped behind him and Bucky glanced over his shoulder to see Byleistr, hands clasped behind his back, looking at the same etching. “Why hasn’t Balder removed this?” Bucky asked._ _

__“The King does not agree with erasing his kingdom’s history, good or bad,” Byleistr replied. “Regardless of Balder’s own views, much of Asgard’s history was built upon the backs of Jotnar no different than myself. He does not intend to forget that.”_ _

__Bucky nodded and considered that. “Has he done right by your people?” he asked, turning back to look at the etching. “I know Thor was...unkind to you, as was his father.”_ _

__“I can ask for no more kindness than what Balder has shown my people.”_ _

__“That’s not an answer.”_ _

__Byleistr chuckled. “Then yes, Bucky of Midgard, I am pleased with Balder’s actions towards me and my home. He has returned the Casket of Ancient Winters and has actively worked to overturn the propaganda that was spread amongst his people and the other realms about the Jotnar. He has brought me to be one of his personal advisors. He regards my voice as highly as he regards his two Aesir advisors. I have no complaints. Do you?”_ _

__“No,” Bucky said, shaking his head. “Asgard has been beyond nice to me. Unbelievably welcoming. I just...I want to make sure it’s like that for everyone. I know Steve is happy here, and I think he and Loki are going to move here after Thanos is killed. I just don’t want him to be anywhere that’s hurting people.”_ _

__“Balder is a very kind and benevolent King,” Byleistr assured him. “He is strong and powerful and knows when to stand down. Now, do you desire an escort to the infirmary?”_ _

__“How did you know that’s where I was going?”_ _

__Byleister laughed at him, rested one huge hand on Bucky’s back to push him forward, walking along behind him. “You have the look of someone who has been through great troubles, Bucky of Midgard. My father often gets that same look and when he does, he goes to our healer. Eir is very well respected and given the high esteem that both of our Princes hold you in, I am certain she has set time aside for you.”_ _

__Bucky looked up at the frost giant. Huh. He didn’t know what to say, and the Einherjar posted outside of Eir’s opened up one of the doors for him. “Thanks,” he said, and went in, leaving Byleistr outside._ _

__Eir looked up from the potion she was brewing and waved Bucky inside. She smiled gently at him. “Ah, Master Barnes,” she said. “Welcome back.”_ _

__He grimaced and sat down on the chair closest to her and watched as the Einherjar pulled the door shut. “I told you that you didn’t need to call me that,” he muttered, scratching his pants with his nails._ _

__Eir chuckled slightly. “I see Loki took my recommendation of giving you an arm,” she said, cutting up something gross and dumping it into one of the bubbling cauldrons. “Do you find it useful?”_ _

__“That was your idea?” Bucky asked, motioning to his black seidr arm. “Did you tell him to give me the most boring color imaginable?”_ _

__Eir laughed lightly and stirred the potion a few times with a golden spoon before holding out her hand. “Give me the item to which the spell is attached to,” she said. “I will see if I can change the color to something more suited to your tastes.”_ _

__Bucky smiled and obliged._ _

* * *

__Loki restrained himself from tapping his fingers impatiently on the table. Behind him, Clint stood, looking rather unimpressed by the entire ordeal. “Your armies are already upon Asgard,” Loki replied calmly. “I have already spoken to your generals. There is nothing more to discuss and I need to be leaving soon.”_ _

__The two Queens of Svartalfheim looked at him. They were sitting on the other side of the table, their personal guards behind them, and Uroz spoke first. “I merely wished to extend our hospitality to any means necessary,” she said, clasping her long white fingers in front of her. “You have one more night here, and we wish to make it as enjoyable as possible.”_ _

__Loki inclined his head. “I appreciate that,” he replied. “But I do not need any more hospitality. I am comfortable enough in the lodgings you have already provided.”_ _

__Aimta reached up and stroked along the long black curl of her horns. “There is nothing more we can offer you? We have many who would be willing to warm your bed, or take care of your pet there, or a massage if you wish...any number of options.”_ _

__Loki raised an eyebrow at both of them. “You are aware that I cannot change my husband’s mind about you giving him assistance, yes?” he said to Aimta. “His mind is not easily swayed and it would surely be swayed even less if he knew you were attempting to bribe me into asking him to change his mind. You should _also_ be aware that you accused me of spelling my husband into subservience and that you are lucky I did not kill you for such, or that I did not have _my pet_ kill you for it. A poor Queen of any Realm that could be killed by a human.”_ _

__The two of them exchanged glances and Aimta said, “I merely wished to apologize for our actions against you, Loki-Prince.”_ _

__“And you thought I would care enough to accept,” Loki mused. “Or that you would have me take another to my bed or give my own personal guard to someone else for the night. You would take me for a fool and you know better than to do that. So what is your goal here, truly?” His eyes flashed red and both of the Queens stiffened, but there was no seidr upon the room that caught Loki’s attention._ _

__Aimta stood up and looked to her wife for a moment before turning her attention back to Loki. “What we have brought you here to ask you is for your help. Svartalfheim is falling.”_ _

__“That is a question for my King,” Loki replied, “not for me.”_ _

___How is it falling?_ Clint asked. _I’ve seen empires fall. Svartalfheim is thriving if anything; I saw no poverty, saw no unused buildings, no falling down homes or the ilk, there is enough food and no famine. Surely this is no more than a trap.__ _

__Loki tapped his chin as he considered that and then he looked to Aimta, who continued, “Not in the way you’re thinking. Our Realm is suffering. We survive off the leylines of seidr that run through our Realm and the leylines have been breaking. All we ask is for you to see if you can find the cause. With your talent in seidr and your abilities...if there is anyone alive who can help us, it is you, Loki-Prince.”_ _

__Clint and Loki exchanged surprised glances and then Loki spread out an invisible wave of seidr. He blinked in surprise at what he found and Clint frowned, glancing at Loki for his nod of approval before leaving the small meeting room. “He will be back shortly,” Loki told the Queens and motioned for Aimta to sit back down. He looked between them and thought for a few moments before saying, “If you were experiencing problems with your Realm, why not go to Balder?”_ _

__“We did not realize what was happening at first,” Uroz replied. “By the time our seidrmadrs realized what was wrong, you were already on your way here.”_ _

___Tell Heimdall of what is happening so he can inform the King,_ Loki told Clint, who sent him a mental affirmation. “When did you first notice a change? What was it?”_ _

__“I am an accomplished warrior,” Aimta told him, and Loki nodded a bit. He’d fought against her before and she had made a name for herself as a powerful and skilled fighter. “But I am no stranger to seidr as well. I use seidr to enhance my abilities in battle and noticed perhaps six months ago that the seidr I was pulling from the leylines was not as powerful as it used to be. At the time, I believed the cause to be myself, as I am nearing 4000 and we Svartr tend to start to slow down around this time. But then we began to hear reports of the same thing happening to other elves.”_ _

__Loki considered all of that. “This is very peculiar,” he said finally, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. “Leylines do not simply fall apart. They either are or they are not.”_ _

__Uroz nodded in agreement. “That is why we ask you for help, Loki-Prince. This seems to be unprecedented.”_ _

__“As far as I am aware, it is completely unprecedented.”_ _

___Yeah, I haven’t seen anything like this before. The only way this happens to leylines is that it’s being siphoned off, but that would have to be something_ huge, Clint told him from where he was still investigating the leylines outside of the palace. Loki gave the two Queens a slow, thoughtful look._ _

__“Clint is of the opinion that the seidr is possibly being siphoned off and that could be causing the instability in the leylines,” Loki told them, clasping his hands in his lap. “If you are planning something, I would be very hesitant in going forward with it.”_ _

__They both gave him surprised looks and simultaneously shook their heads. “We would never go against you or Asgard,” Aimta swore. “We are merely asking for your help.”_ _

___I didn’t say it was them,_ Clint muttered. _You big paranoid bastard.__ _

__Loki gave the two of them a small, insincere smile. “Of course, and I am happy to give it. Let Clint finish his investigation and then we will move forward.” He conjured up a book and flipped through it, ignoring the two Queens as they hissed to each other in their native language. He could understand what they were saying but did not pay any particular attention to it. After a while, perhaps an hour, Uroz called in a servant and they brought in three platters of food. Loki picked through it and asked for a tea set._ _

__It took a few more hours for Clint to come back in, and Loki greeted him with a small smile, sending away his book and motioning for Clint to sit next to him, ignoring the lack of propriety as he leaned over and picked through Loki’s platter. Loki pushed it closer and watched him eat._ _

__“Well?” Aimta asked impatiently. “Did you find anything?”_ _

__Loki turned his attention back to her. “You will not even let him finish eating?” he asked, a bit amused._ _

__“It’s fine,” Clint said around a mouthful of food. Both the Queens grimaced and he grinned. “I don’t know if I know the root cause, but there’s definitely something destabilizing the seidr around your realm. It’s strange. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” He scratched at his chin while he thought, and then he looked at Loki. “It’d take me at least a week to research this.”_ _

___So, I go on to Alfheim alone? And you stay here?_ _ _

__Clint shrugged one shoulder. _Either that or we both stay here.__ _

__Loki considered it. _Three days,_ he decided upon. Then he turned to Uroz and Aimta. “Clint will stay here for three days and then he will join me. He will do his best to find the cause of the unrest of seidr in your realm. You will give him all the access you would give me. If I hear of a single complaint or poor treatment, I will personally bring Mjolnir down upon this realm until it is dust. Have I made myself clear?”_ _

__The two Queens nodded. “We welcome you into our home with open arms, Clint of Midgard,” Aimta replied quietly. Loki reached out and brushed his fingers over the back of Clint’s neck and then tugged him in close._ _

___Be safe,_ Loki murmured to him and Clint nodded obediently. Loki affectionately scratched his nails through Clint’s hair and then stood up. “Three days,” he repeated. “I thank you for your hospitality and generosity, Queens of Svartalfheim. Asgard and Midgard are both thankful for your warriors and your faith in us and our armies. It is only with your help that we will finally defeat Thanos.” He inclined his head to them and held out his hand, the Tesseract appearing in his palm. “Until we meet again.”_ _

__With a puff of blue smoke, Loki disappeared._ _

__Clint finished eating and then looked at Uroz and Aimta. “Well then,” he said. “Let’s get started.”_ _


	15. chapter fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The various armies of the Nine Realms come to Asgard. The Nine prepare for battle.

Seidr needed pathways to travel. That was why leylines existed in the first place; seidr existed in all things, all around every realm and inside every person and animal and plant and tree and everything alive and dead, but it needed a way to get from point A to point B. Leylines were simply the easiest paths of travel for innate and natural seidr. They were not able to be disturbed or changed by any kind of mortal means. Which, of course, was why this was such a confusing situation.

Clint had lived many thousands of lives. He had all the knowledge of every single Loki that had ever lived. He was an invaluable resource on hundreds of subjects, ranging from bows and arrows to proper dining etiquette for a second-son prince at a gala honoring the peace treaty between two previously warring realms. He knew the twenty different proper greetings for twenty different royalty. There were very, very few things he did not know.

Which was why this problem was so goddamn vexing. He wasn’t used to not knowing things.

He dipped his fingers again into the leyline and it wavered around him. He could feel the seidr trembling instead of surging. He tried to think back to any occasion of something like this happening before but there was nothing. Seidr didn’t just disintegrate like this. It stayed solid and current and could only be changed through force. He’d walked every single inch of the leylines on this realm and nothing was siphoning away their power. There was nothing cracked, nothing broken, nothing that the seidr of this realm could be trickling down into or otherwise changing. 

He sighed.

He had one more day and then he needed to go to Alfheim with Loki. He’d spent two days walking every goddamn inch of Svartalfheim, trying to find the cause of their problems He’d talked with seidrmadrs and seidrkonrs and potion brewers and elves who barely noticed their usage of seidr until it was no longer there. He’d talked with Uroz and Aimta until their voices had gone hoarse. If there was an answer, it wasn’t one he could find.

So he was going to put down a talisman. A few of them, actually, at all of the intersections of the leylines. It wouldn’t fix the problem, but it would stabilize the seidr still left on the realm. 

He sat back against a tree and opened a pocket dimension, pulling out a bit of food and also his phone. He nibbled on the food while he turned his phone on and infused it with a bit of seidr so he could make calls with it.

He put it on speaker while it rang.

“Clint?” Stephen Strange asked. “I thought you were off-world.”

“I am,” Clint sighed. “I’m on Svartalfheim right now. World of the dark elves. I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“You know about leylines, right? Basically belts of magic that encircle the world. They’re pathways for seidr to travel. Seidr is pretty stable. It’s kind of possessive and doesn’t leave things behind. So why would the leylines on this realm be disintegrating? I can’t find any reason for it.”

“Hmmm.” He could hear Stephen move around on his end and Clint took another bite of food. “Is it being siphoned off somewhere?”

“No, that was the first thing I checked.”

“What does Loki think it is?”

“He doesn’t know, that’s why he sent me to figure it out.”

Stephen chuckled. “Loki not knowing something? First time for everything, I suppose.” He moved around again and Clint could hear the sound of a book being opened and pages being flipped through. “We pull our power from other dimensions, but I understand that the use of your magic is innate. Have you checked to see if any of the leylines have been moved?”

“Huh.” Clint scrambled to his feet and flicked seidr at his phone so it floated next to his head as he walked. He nibbled on his food while he walked. “It doesn’t feel like any of them are moved. Do you know how powerful someone would have to be to do that? It takes a tremendous amount of power to even siphon seidr from a leyline, let alone _move_ one of them.”

“Power like an Infinity Stone?”

That stopped Clint in his tracks as he thought. “Huh. Yeah. I mean, yeah. But we have all of them. Uroz and Aimta aren’t nearly strong enough to wield one of them.” He continued walking.

“I’m assuming you already considered an earthquake or something.”

“You’re assuming correctly.”

Stephen flipped through pages on his end. “We don’t have much research done here on leylines,” he mused. “It’s mostly considered alternative magic on Earth, and a lot of people don’t even believe they exist.”

“They don’t exist in the way humans think they do,” Clint offered up, climbing up a hill. “You lot think they connect structures or something. Instead they’re just created by seidr.” He stopped at the top of the hill and looked around. Svartalfheim was a world of trees, massive trees, larger than anything he’d seen on any other realm, but there were bare places where trees and other life did not grow. He’d never thought about it before, but maybe it was connected? He looked around and noticed a mountain off in the distance. He sighed and began to walk.

“I feel like you’re thinking something,” Stephen said.

“Do you know about the Sidhe?”

“The what?”

“They’re fairies, basically. They used to live on Svartalfheim before the dark elves came in and stole everything. They, uh, well. They do something similar to your kind of seidr where they pull seidr from the earth instead of using their innate seidr.” He sighed. “They were pushed out of Svartalfheim and fled. There’s rumor they went to Midgard. I’m thinking they’ve come back.”

“Could they be pulling the seidr from the leylines?” Stephen questioned.

“It’s literally the only thing I can think of,” Clint shrugged. “I think I’m going to call you back later. Thanks for the help.” He ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket, making a note of the fairy circles he passed.

The elves lived up in the trees for a few reasons. One was because it was incredibly difficult to survive on the ground, given that the world was dark down there and the land based animals were incredibly difficult to hunt. There were a great deal of birds in Svartalfheim that could easily be caught in nets to eat and breed for food. The other reason was that the Sidhe had lived down on the ground and it was custom and tradition for the elves to stay up in the trees to keep safe from their seidr. 

He made it to the top of the mountain an hour or so later and stopped to look around. He hadn’t many memories of Svartalfheim, but what he did know is that the realm had never looked like this.

There were huge swaths of trees cut down in long lines that ran parallel to the leylines. There were great spots of bare earth and dead grass. There was really only one thing left for him to do.

_Do I have your permission to speak with foreign royalty?_ he asked Loki.

_Pardon?_

_I think the Sidhe have come back to Svartalfheim and they’re what’s causing the instability in the realm’s seidr. I want to go talk to their royalty._

He could feel Loki’s fingers plucking at his mind and Clint sat down, leaning against a rock, letting his eyes shut. Loki paged through Clint’s thoughts and then he sighed into Clint’s mind. _I believe the Sidhe lived underground, yes? You will come to Alfheim in the morn, but take the rest of today and tonight to do what you must. If it is the Sidhe who are doing this to Svartalfheim, then it is the duty of the Queens to right the wrong of their ancestors. But you may go in my stead to speak with them._

Clint nodded and opened his eyes. A small shape flitted out of the edge of his vision and he chuckled. _Think they already found me. But thanks. I’ll do my best._

_I could ask no more of you._

Loki turned his attention back to whatever weird shit he was doing and Clint stood up and stretched. He opened a pocket dimension and dug through it until he found the food he’d been eating earlier, and tossed a few crumbs of it off in the direction where he could feel small eyes watching him. “I come in stead of Loki of Asgard,” Clint said, his voice soft. “I am Clint Barton and I was from Midgard.” He blinked and some of the food was gone. He smiled, crouching down and tossing the rest of the food a couple feet in front of himself. “I know what the dark elves did to your people.”

“We are not people!” a small voice came from behind him, and Clint chuckled, turning around to look at a small being standing on a rock behind him, fists on their hips. He smiled up at them. “We are elves.”

“I’m not a person either,” Clint offered up, sitting fully down on the ground. “I’m Clint.”

“I am Razan,” they announced. “I am emissary to the elves. Why are you here?”

“The Queens of Svartalfheim asked Loki to figure out why the leylines around their realm were becoming unstable and the seidr was not responding as it once did. He sent me in his stead, and now I have come to you to ask if my presumption that the Sidhe is taking the seidr from the dark elves is correct.”

Razan rubbed at their tiny chin and another elf jumped up to the top of the rock and handed them a particularly large chunk of bread. Razan took a small bite and then tucked the rest into their small vest pocket. They were no more than a foot tall, with dark skin and large bat-like ears and big eyes, and they wore expertly crafted clothes that fit perfectly. “You will not fit inside our tunnels,” Razan said. “You are very big.” Clint laughed. “But you will come with us anyway. We will bring our King out for you to meet him.”

“I would be honored,” Clint assured them, and stood up and followed them as they ran quickly down the mountain, a few other elves appearing to gawk up at him. It took them awhile longer to take Clint to the entry to their underground home and Razan pointed him to a stump while they ducked underground. Clint obediently sat and waited patiently as a few of the elves stared blatantly up at him. He guessed they didn’t have any reason to hide now that he knew they were there. 

A few of them asked him questions and he answered them as truthfully as he could. Yes he worked for Prince Loki, yes he was once human, no he didn’t know a name for what he was, yes he was Asgardian, no he didn’t own a dog, no he didn’t think dogs were scary, no he had never been bitten by a dog—

“What’s up with these dog questions?” Clint asked the small elf who was diligently pressing him about dogs.

They looked up at him with wide blue eyes and frowned. “Dogs are very scary,” they told him in a high-pitched voice. The few elves gathered around them also nodded. “But you are very big. Dogs must think you are friendly.”

Clint shrugged one shoulder. “I guess so. I haven’t met very many dogs but they seem to like me.” He leaned in a little closer. “What do you think about cats?”

The small elf beamed at him. “I love cats! One of my best friends was a cat when we lived on Terra. But now we’re home and I just hope she’s doing okay.”

Clint nodded. “I’m sure she is,” he assured, and then looked up as Razan came out of the ground, a small group of elves behind him. He could already tell which one was the King and Clint inclined his head and waited for them to speak.

“I am King Erans of the Sidhe,” they told him, lifting their tiny chin. They had a small crown upon their head that looked like it would be the same size as Clint’s wedding ring, and they held a small wooden staff that had a black stone at the top.

“I am Clint of Asgard,” Clint replied. “Hirdman to Prince Loki. I am here to help.”

“Is that so?” Erans questioned. “How do we know your motivations are true?”

Clint shrugged. “I could’ve gone to the Queens with my findings. Instead I came to you.”

Erans bared his tiny, sharp teeth. “They are false Queens,” he snarled. “Their ancestors stole our world and then took to the trees once they had poisoned the earth with our blood. You say you are here to help but you still respect their stolen thrones?”

Clint sighed, thinking it over. “I understand all that,” he said finally, “but I serve one who sits at the throne of Asgard, which means I have no choice other than to respect what or who the King deems is the proper royalty of each realm. It is out of my hands.”

“Is it?” Erans pressed. “If Loki trusts you enough to send you in his stead, then surely you could convince him that the Queens of Svartalfheim are false Queens! This is our home and they stole it, and we intend to take it back.”

He chuckled. “I think you’re really overestimating how much say I have in anything that happens. Look, all I am here to do is find out what’s happening to the seidr on this realm. If y’all are taking it, that’s fine. I’ll report back that I put down a couple talismans or something to solidify the leylines, which is what I was planning on doing before I realized you were back, and then I’ll go on my way. If you want to stage some coup, I can’t be a part of it. It goes against my duty and, look, I support it completely, but I can’t do anything other than turn the other cheek. I’m sorry.”

Erans scoffed at him and Clint shrugged. His loyalty to Loki came before anything and everything else. The Sidhe were in a difficult position, but he couldn’t help them do anything to the Queens because they, and the rest of Svartalfheim, were under Asgard’s protection. “Weak,” Erans muttered, turning away. “We had heard great stories of Clint of Midgard. I had thought you would understand our plight.”

“I do,” Clint promised, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just can’t go against the throne like that. All I can do is tell them I didn’t find anything. Loki likes an underdog story anyway, so I doubt he’ll mind. But I really can’t do anything more than that. I’m sorry.”

_What do I like?_

_An underdog story? Like when—_

_What is that? Is that what the Sidhe look like now? What on Midgard—_

Clint looked up as Loki appeared next to him. All of the elves around them shouted in surprise and some of them drew small swords and hefted small spears. Loki glanced around and Clint moved over on the stump so Loki could perch on it next to him. Loki did so and then peered down at the Sidhe in front of them. “What happened to the great race of the Sidhe?” Loki questioned.

Erans glowered at him. “Loki,” they said stiffly. “We were once great beings, but we needed worship and affection from the humans to sustain our forms. When they stopped believing in us and stopped worshipping us, we withered away over the generations into what you see before you.” They raised their chin. “Now we have come home to take back what is ours.”

“Curious,” Loki murmured, glancing at Clint. “What did you say to this intention?”

“That I couldn’t help,” Clint replied. “That my loyalty to you and the crown of Asgard comes first. I told them that I wouldn’t tell the Queens that they were the ones causing the disruption in seidr across the realm, but I couldn’t actively help.”

_Good boy._ “That sounds perfectly adequate to me, King Erans,” Loki informed them, and they scowled. “You surely cannot be asking the Prince of Asgard to help stage a coup against royalty on one of the Nine Realms?”

“Thor would’ve done it,” Erans muttered.

Loki laughed aloud at that, pulling Clint to his feet as well. “No, Thor would’ve thought you small and weak and would’ve crushed the lot of you under Mjolnir. Then he would’ve thrown a feast for himself and had bards sing a melody for him about how he crushed the Sidhe pests. We can do no more for you.” He turned to look at Clint. “Report back to Uroz and Aimta and then join me in Alfheim.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Clint’s forehead and then disappeared.

Clint raised an eyebrow at that and then shrugged it off, turning to look down at the elves scattered around his feet. “You heard my orders,” he told them with a shrug. “I hope everything turns out well for you lot. I’ve got to get back but it was nice meeting you all.”

He left them a bit more food and then took off into the forest, back towards the palace. It was a long walk, but he enjoyed it. He’d always enjoyed being out in nature, especially out by himself. He wanted to pull out his hearing aids but he was on a foreign realm and had, at the minimum, annoyed a group of powerful seidrmadrs. But it was quiet, for the most part, and the travel went easily and quick.

By the time he made it back to the palace, it was nearly dark. He watched the sunset and then went inside, asked a servant where Uroz and Aimta were, and then greeted them in a parlor room outside their personal quarters. He fiddled with the tea set and made himself a cup of tea and sipped at it while he waited for the Queens.

Aimta joined him first and Clint made her a cup and then asked if she wanted to wait for Uroz, but she shook her head.

“I didn’t find anything,” Clint told her. “Some of the leylines cross into the sea, and there might be some kind of rift or something down there that I couldn’t see. But I went to a few intersections and put down a few talismans that should help stabilize the seidr. I’d expect to see improvements in the next month or so.”

Aimta nodded, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Thank you,” she said, reaching across the table to catch Clint’s hand. Clint raised his eyebrows at her and looked down at her hand. She seemed to realize who she was touching a moment later and snatched her hand back as if she had been burned. Her touch left a green mark on his skin. Interesting. Uroz came in just a moment after that and joined her wife on the small bench on their side of the table. Uroz kissed her cheek and then Aimta explained what Clint had found.

“So there is nothing we need to be made aware of?” Uroz questioned. “You believe our realm-wide problems with seidr are being caused by an unseen rift in the sea?”

Clint shrugged one shoulder and sipped at his tea. “It makes as much sense as anything else,” he replied. “Seidr can get caught in places like that. You’d have to get someone to go down there to check, but I can’t. I have to leave soon.”

The two of them looked at each other and then nodded. “We thank you for your assistance then, Clint of Asgard,” Aimta said, pushing to her feet and smoothing down her dress. “You are certain you found nothing else of interest?”

Clint stood up as well and shook his head. “I walked all over Svartalfheim for two days,” he told her. “If I found anything relevant, I would’ve told you. There wasn’t anything else.” He looked between them. “If there isn’t anything else, I’ll be taking my leave.”

They both nodded and he inclined his head and left. He didn’t even wait until he was outside the palace to close his eyes and pull himself through the dimensions to land at Loki’s side.

Loki was sitting on the balcony outside of his guest quarters in Alfheim, dressed in comfortable linens, and he motioned for Clint to go change and divest himself of his weapons. Clint did so and then joined Loki on the balcony, kneeling at his side. Loki handed him his own chalice of wine and then his eyes caught on the green mark around Clint’s wrist, snagging it in his grasp.

_What is this?_ Loki queried.

_Aimta grabbed me, just for a second. I think it’s the bond._

Loki brushed his fingers over the mark and it faded away. Loki made a curious noise and then dropped Clint’s hand, turning his attention back to Alfheim beneath him. They were up in a tower, high above the city, and Clint looked through the open balcony railing for a minute before leaning against Loki’s leg and sipping at his wine. Loki took out his hearing aids for him and Clint slumped in relief as quiet slipped in.

The two of them sat together, Loki’s hand in Clint’s hair, as the sun slowly set before them.

* * *

“Wait, you went to _art_ school?” Sam asked, trying not to laugh. He wasn’t really sure what the correct reaction was, but he knew laughing at Steve was definitely the wrong one.

Steve snorted, picking his paintbrush back up and swabbing up some paint before turning his attention back to the easel in front of him. “Both Buck and I did. I was more into it, though. He was a boxing champion.” He glanced at Sam, who slowly sat down and shook his head. “You didn’t know any of that?”

“I never asked,” Sam muttered, shaking his head. “Why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“Embarrassed, maybe?” Steve tried, but they both knew that wasn’t true.

Sam grimaced. “Do you think he maybe...forgot?”

Steve sighed, setting down his paintbrush. He’d been trying to paint an approximation of the Bifrost bridge, but he was a bit out of practice. “He’s been talking with Eir, right? I know she’s been giving him mind soothing potions. Those can help with memory recall.” He paused, glanced at Sif standing next to the door, and then asked, “Is he doing any better? Any irrational thoughts?”

“I don’t think so,” Sam replied. “At least, none that he’s told me about.” He paused, and then asked, “Do you think he would tell me? He swore he would, but he didn’t tell me about thinking I was better off without him.”

Steve considered that, thought about what he knew about Bucky and how Bucky and Sam had grown so close, and how much he knew Bucky trusted Sam. He looked at Sam, at one of his closest friends, and he said, “Yeah, he’ll tell you. He loves you.”

Sam smiled at that and Steve smiled along with him. “Sif, can you give us a minute?” Sam asked her, and Sif turned to raise her eyebrows at Steve.

Steve waved her out of the room. “What is it?” he asked Sam as the door shut behind Sif.

Sam dropped his gaze to the floor. “I was thinking, after all this, I would propose to him.”

Steve sagged back in his seat. “Wow,” he muttered. “That’s great, man. I’m happy for you.”

“If he says yes, will you...will you marry us?”

Steve surged forward and wrapped Sam in a hug. Sam chuckled into his neck and hugged Steve back. “Of course,” Steve told him. “It’d be one of the highest honors of my life.” Steve pulled back and his hand moved up to hold onto Sam’s neck as he looked over his friend’s face. “You two are good for each other,” Steve pressed. “I can’t imagine two people who deserve each other more. I gave you the shield because you’re a good man, and I’ll be there on the day you and Bucky marry each other. I swear.”

Sam smiled and hugged him again, and then they pulled back from each other as Sif knocked on the door and opened it to reveal Bucky, who glanced between them and then moved into the room. He looked faintly troubled, but more than that was that his left arm was a dark red. Sam stood up and met him halfway into the room, reaching down to take Bucky’s hand. “You alright?” Sam asked. “Did you talk to Eir?”

Bucky nodded, looking down at Sam’s hand in his. “She gave me a couple potions that she said would help, and she helped me change the color of my arm.” He took in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then let it out slowly. “What were you two talking about?”

“We were talking about Clint,” Steve said from the couch, moving back over the painting that he was deciding to abandon. “He met a few elves on Svartalfheim.”

“Elves?” Bucky asked, pulling away from Sam and over to raise his eyebrows at Steve’s painting, Sam shadowing behind him. “Like, Legolas elves?”

“No,” Steve chuckled. “They’re called Sidhe. They were cast out of Svartalfheim and went to Midgard.” He looked at Bucky’s seidr arm. “I like it. You decided to go with a color other than black, then?”

Bucky pulled the stone out of his pocket and tossed it up into the air. “Loki didn’t tell me I could change the color of the arm and Eir had to figure it out. I figured I’d keep it as my favorite color for awhile. So, what are these elves?”

Steve frowned for a moment as he thought how to describe them, and then he picked up a pencil and took a couple minutes to sketch one of them out. Sam and Bucky both watched curiously. 

“So _definitely_ not a Legolas elf,” Bucky muttered, and then he took pause. “Hold on, who do you think would be a better shot? Barton or Legolas?”

“Did you go on a _Lord of the Rings_ binge or something?” Steve asked amusedly.

“We watched the trilogy a few weekends ago,” Sam replied. “But it would be Legolas, right? Like obviously. He’s an elf, he can pull an arrow out of his quiver and fire it in like a second.”

“Faster than the human brain can even comprehend,” Bucky affirmed. “But Clint’s pretty fast, right? I’ve seen him do stuff I didn’t even think was possible.”

Steve sighed and sat down on one of the armchairs, Sam and Bucky sitting together on the couch. “I’ll ask him,” Steve finally decided after Sam and Bucky talked it out for a couple more minutes. _Clint, who’s a better shot: you or Legolas?_

_Wha—ow! Are you ser—what? I just burst out laughing in a meeting with King Eagoc and Queen Iax and Loki smacked me! What kind of fuckin’ question is that, Steve? Obviously the elf is better. He’s an_ elf.

Steve sighed again and restrained the urge to put his head in his hands. “Clint says Legolas would be better.”

“He’s wrong,” Bucky spoke up.

“Hold on, there’s no way. Legolas has super speed and can see in the dark,” Sam interrupted. “And he can tame horses just by talking to them. Clint doesn’t even have a dog or anything.”

“But Clint can do most of that without any sort of supernatural abilities,” Bucky countered. “If he can do it without already being enhanced, doesn’t that mean he’s better?”

“No, it just means he had to work harder to get to the same level. That doesn’t mean he’s worth any more or is a better shot just because he can’t see in the dark.”

Bucky turned to Steve. “Can he see in the dark?”

Steve rubbed at his forehead. What the hell. “I’ll ask.” _Can you see in the dark?_

_What kind of conversation are you having? I’m gonna get kicked off this Realm for disrespect and it’s gonna be all your fault. And no, I can’t see—oh. Huh. Loki just said I can see in the dark. I didn’t know that._

“Clint says he can see in the dark,” Steve told the two of them. “Apparently Loki gave him a potion awhile back that granted him the ability, and yes, he’ll give one to each of you if you want.”

Sam and Bucky high-fived.

“If we’re done with that, can we get back to work?”

Both Sam and Bucky nodded and Steve called for Sif, and then the four of them walked through the palace and out to the training grounds. Carol, Valkyrie, Natigus, and Barney were all sparring with various partners and Steve immediately involved himself in the situation, greeting Valkyrie and giving Barney pointers and tussling with Natigus. Sam moved to join him, hefting his shield, but then hung back with Bucky.

“What is it?” Sam asked quietly, trying to be gentle about it. Bucky didn’t say anything and Sam looked him over, trying to read him. “You’re not going to hurt any of them. They’re Aesir; even Steve can barely put a dent in some of them.”

“It’s not that,” Bucky admitted, barely audible over the ruckus. “I’m just worried that if I start, I won’t ever be able to stop.”

Sam reached out and caught Bucky’s shoulder and turned him so they were face to face. “You listen to me,” Sam pressed, searching Bucky’s eyes, “You’re not him anymore. They got him out of your head. You are your own person and if I ever get a hint that somehow, the Soldier is back, I will stop him. I swear. But you’re in control, no one else. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. You can walk away and I will punch the hell outta anyone who says anything about it.”

Bucky tipped forward so their foreheads were pressed together, his eyes fluttering shut. “I love you,” he breathed. “I love you so much.”

Sam grinned. “Yeah, babe, I know.”

“You two gonna moon over each other all day or come fight?” Carol called over.

Sam pulled back first and caught Bucky’s hand. “Come on,” he said, pulling Bucky towards the crowd, “Let’s hunt some Orc.”

Bucky laughed and followed him, as he would follow Sam anywhere.

* * *

_What the hell is a Legolas?_

Clint grinned. _Still trying to figure that one out, huh?_ They were upon Vanaheim now, and had briefly met with Kings Utgon and Quarev before being shown their quarters for the night. Loki was propped up against a mound of pillows in the bed, shirtless with blankets pooled around his waist, reading a book, while Clint was across the room, sitting on the floor in front of a low table, cleaning and repairing his various weaponry.

Loki rolled his eyes. _Are you not going to tell me?_

_It’s funnier when you don’t know._

_With my history of amnesia I would believe that you would find it tedious._

Clint chuckled. _I’m basically your memory bank,_ he replied. _So I guess it would be against my nature to be annoyed by it._ He sent Loki a dark grin and Loki grumbled under his breath. _He’s just a really good bowman._

_Arrange a competition with him, then. See which one of you is the superior archer._

_He’s definitely a fictional character._

Loki rolled his eyes so hard Clint was surprised he didn’t fall out of the bed. _Then it is not even an argument, is it? If you are real and your opponent is not, then you are clearly superior._ With that, he turned back to his book, like he’d really said something. Clint just shook his head and turned back to his weapons, only to have Loki speak up again because he was incapable of acting any type of normal at all. _What franchise is this elf from? We will watch it when this is finished and I will analyze his fighting style and his skills and then tell you if you are the superior bowman._

Clint sighed. _I mean, I’m fine with that, but you’re really telling me that you’d sit through 12 hours of movies just to tell me that a fictional elf is more skilled than me?_

Loki scowled. _What makes you think the elf is more skilled?_

_Because I’ve actually seen the movies? He’s a lot better than me._

_Do you really believe I would keep an inferior archer in my employ?_

Clint groaned and dropped his head forward onto the table, barely avoiding cutting himself with a knife. _I think you’re trying to argue this nonsensical point because you’re nervous for tomorrow and you’re trying to annoy me so you can have an excuse for acting out._ Loki glowered at him and pointedly looked back at his book, although Clint could tell he wasn’t actually reading it. _Now you’re going to pretend like I didn’t say anything and you’re going to angst about tomorrow when you could just hurt me like we both want you to do._

Loki slammed the book shut and Clint smirked smugly at him. _You are such a brat,_ Loki muttered, throwing the blankets off his legs and sliding out of bed. _Spoiled little brat._

_I’m only spoiled because you like spoiling me,_ Clint retorted. Loki dropped onto the couch near him and picked up one of Clint’s arrows, forehead creased in a frown. _Wait, hold on. You_ don’t _want to hurt me._

Loki glared at him. _You’re making me reconsider that,_ he muttered.

_You sap!_ Clint exclaimed with a laugh. _You wanna take care of me, not hurt me. You just get this...cyclical thought in your head when it comes to me and I guess sometimes I can’t differentiate between the two. Is this because of the thing with the marshal? I’m over it, I swear._

Loki shifted uncomfortably and grumbled, _No. You may be a spoiled brat but that is only..._ Clint.

Clint smiled softly at him and moved closer on his knees, kneeling at Loki’s feet. One long-fingered hand found its way to his jaw and Clint leaned into his grasp, looking up at him, not even attempting to keep the adoration off his face. _I know,_ he said. _You don’t have to say it. I know. Me too._

Loki stroked a thumb over Clint’s cheekbone and then tugged a bit at him, both of them going to their feet. Loki looked down at him and tipped forward, eyes falling shut as their foreheads pressed together. Neither of them said anything as they shared air.

It took Loki a while to pull away from Clint and grab one of his hands and tug him towards the bathroom. Clint followed in a warm haze, leaning on Loki as Loki quickly stripped him down and ran the bath for him. He slid into the bath, head lolling into Loki’s palm as Loki held him above water, and gently, Clint watched Loki’s face as Loki gently and determinedly cleaned him.

He didn’t care about Loki’s hands on him or the way Loki’s fingers curled into his hair to spread shampoo around or the way Loki cleaned him with a rag. His body was unimportant other than how he could use it to serve. But if cleaning him brought Loki peace then...sometimes Clint worried he did not offer enough, that he was not enough for what Loki needed. He had not been a choice, after all; Loki had not chosen him. Clint had not given him a choice in taking him, and Clint sometimes let himself slip into the soft, hurt place where he’d imagine who Loki would choose over him. He didn’t now, not when Loki was looking at him like he was something soft and precious and _treasured_ , but sometimes...Clint would wonder, he would wonder if Loki would have chosen him regardless.

Loki did choose him, in the very beginning. Clint had to remember that. The very first Loki had chosen the very first version of him and it had changed him so completely that he had belonged to Loki for every single version of him that came after. He merely did not know if one choice measured out over thousands, and wondered if there was even a difference in the grand scheme of things, if Loki choosing him once meant that every incarnation of him would choose him again and again.

_Hush,_ Loki murmured gently into his mind, running warm water through Clint’s hair. _Hush your mind, pet. Let Loki take care of you._

Clint nodded into his grasp and let his eyes flutter shut. He sunk down into the warm space where he existed as nothing other than something that belonged to Loki, as an extension of Loki himself, and did not think about what ifs or how things could have been any longer.

He only opened his eyes when he felt the warm water begin to drain away, but Loki shushed him back down, and he slumped into Loki’s grasp again as Loki picked him up and carried him to bed. Long arms wrapped around him and Clint curled up as close to Loki as he could manage.

There was a shift in the air and then strong fingers were tracing down Clint’s back and he could feel vibrations in Loki’s chest but couldn’t hear the words he was speaking. But he could feel Steve and the Power Stone curling around him, and Clint let his God and his Captain curl around him as he settled down into the place where he barely felt like he existed at all, and it was good and warm and he would never want for anything else.

In the morning, Clint woke up to find that Loki had pinned him to the bed and was currently snoring into his ear. He couldn’t hear it but he could feel the way Loki’s chest vibrated on top of him, and Clint chuckled at the thought and then gently pushed Loki off of him, settling him under the covers again and a pillow in his arms. He slid out of the huge, soft bed and stretched languorously and cracked his jaw in a yawn. There was a large tray of breakfast food on a table near the door and he floated it over to the bed, nudging mentally at Loki, who was glaring at him before his eyes even opened.

He poured Loki a cup of tea and smiled sheepishly at him. _Was Steve here last night?_ Clint asked him, sliding back under the covers and butting against Loki until he sat up and Clint could lean into his side.

_Aye,_ Loki replied, picking through the breakfast tray floating in front of him. _You summoned him. I believe you wished to have both of us taking care of you._

Clint chuckled at that. _I don’t even remember,_ he admitted. _I just miss him._

Loki nodded, patted Clint’s hand. _As do I, pet. But what we do now is more important than our feelings. One night will not change anything, but we must stay focused on our goals._

_I know. But thank you. I think we...both needed that._

_Perhaps you are right._

Clint laughed at him and stole his tea. Loki glowered at him and then floated the tray out of Clint’s reach while he floated bites of food to his own mouth. Clint ended up tackling Loki off the bed and throwing pillows at the floating tray until it tipped over and dropped food to the floor. Clint squatted next to the food mess and began eating while Loki laughed so hard he flushed pink and Clint beamed at him.

* * *

Loki and Clint stood in front of the entire mass of the Alfheim army, Clint standing back while Loki spoke with the generals and lieutenants and captains. Loki motioned behind his back with one hand and Clint began to move, walking up and down the rows of stoic soldiers. They all wore shined gold armor with sharp helmets with their weapons in their hands or on their backs. They wore heavy black and silver leathers underneath their armor, and the heavies with the morning stars and ball and chain flails and thick, studded bats wore chainmail underneath their armor. When he got the archers, he held out his hand to the nearest Alf, who quickly handed over their bow and an arrow. He tested the draw and ran his hand down the length of the limbs and over the recurve, and then nocked the arrow and smoothly loosed it, Loki not looking away from whoever he was talking to to snatch it out of the air.

He handed the bow back and continued on. _They seem adequate,_ he said to Loki after making his way down one long row and moving back the other. 2000 soldiers were a helluva lot. _I don’t have any issues to raise._

_Good,_ Loki replied shortly. _The leaders are adequate as well. They have outlined their training programs to me and I can see how Steve will improve upon them but can also learn from them._

Clint held a hand out for a long sword and balanced it in his palm. _Weapons are well made, which doesn’t surprise me. Alfheim has always had good weapons, even if they balk at the chance to use them._ He handed the sword back and moved back to the next group of heavies, taking the morning star that was handed over to him. It was heavier than he was expecting and he sent the massive Alf an appreciative look. The morning star was the length of one of his legs with a massive grip and the spiked ball on the end was the size of his head. He wasn’t even sure if he could wield it. It had definitely seen battle, and was clearly a prized weapon, so Clint handed it back quickly and moved on. There were a few weapons embedded with Alfheim crystals, which Clint found fascinating, and he talked with a few of the soldiers about the purpose of that for a few minutes while Loki continued to talk.

Culture around war was different on each realm. Jotnar avoided it until it was necessary; Nif worked to stop it with their science and were successful more often than not; dark elves sought it out; Vanir sent their barbarians and when that didn’t solve the problem, their seidrmadrs came and eradicated whatever opposing force they had; Aesir used to seek it out but now they were more powerful and always managed to destroy their opponents; fire giants were a realm constantly at war with the realm they lived upon, always fighting to survive, so fighting other realms was natural; Alfar considered themselves a peaceful race, and only went to war when they had exhausted all other options. Humans, of course, pretended to be peaceful while they were at war behind every corner. 

Clint preferred Asgard, of course, as well as Midgard, but he liked the look of these Alfs. He could appreciate a good warrior, after all. He made his way back to Loki and stood at his right hand, not paying particular attention to what they were talking about. Something caught his ear and he snagged Loki’s attention and asked, _They have winged soldiers? I didn’t see any._

Loki turned a bit so his attention was on Clint. “You did not see any?” he asked out loud.

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I mean, there’s 2000 of them, so I could’ve missed them, but winged warriors? Figure that would be hard to miss.”

“It is hidden behind a spell,” one of the Generals said, and clasped his hand to a small jewel embedded in his armor. There was a thrum of power and then two massive wings spread out from his back.

“That’s _awesome,_ ” Clint effused, staring at the wings in awe. “I know a guy that would love that.”

Loki smirked and turned back to the General. “Do you have any more questions about the training regiment offered on Asgard? I can assure you that my husband and his compatriots are very skilled.”

The General and the Lieutenants behind him all shook their heads. “But,” the winged General said, holding up one long-fingered hand, “if you would not mind, my soldiers would love a demonstration.” His eyes landed on Clint and Loki’s eyebrows raised as he looked back at him as well. “We have heard great tales of the Archer of Asgard.”

Clint rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Loki, who nodded and moved out of the way, conjuring up a few seidr shields and tossing them up in the air. He had arrows lodged in each of them before they were even static in the air, and a few of the soldiers cheered behind him. One of the Captains asked Loki for permission and when it was granted, created seidr targets of his own, throwing them far up into the sky. Loki squeezed a hand in the air and Clint’s arrows fell out of the targets, clattering on the ground. He’d collect them afterwards.

He stretched out his shoulders and got to work.

They tried to make it difficult, but they weren’t really aware of what he was capable of, especially not now that he had the full power of Loki’s seidr behind him. There was little he was not capable of now, little he could not plan for or predict. He was skilled on his own, but with Loki? He was unstoppable.

When he was done, when he’d fired all of his arrows and Loki was giving him smug, content looks, Clint turned to the amassed soldiers and bowed. They roared and Loki stepped up next to him, sliding a hand over the back of Clint’s neck underneath the golden snake wrapped around him. Clint turned to him and smiled. 

They watched as Heimdall opened the Bifrost and the warriors all left, leaving them alone on a massive field. A faint breeze blew and Clint looked up at his god and smiled. Loki smiled back and they watched as the sun began to set on Alfheim. They had a great deal of work left to do, but a moment to take in the sights would not hurt anything.

* * *

Steve stood abreast with Carol, Valkyrie, Sam, Bucky, Natigus, and Sif, with the rest of the Aesir army behind them. On the other side of the field were part of Alfheim’s army, as well as a few sets of Vanir barbarians, and behind the Aesir were a set of Jotnar warriors that even Steve would’ve hesitated to go up against in battle.

He raised Mjolnir and Sif pounded her spear on the ground, a great boom resonating out over the practice field, everyone falling silent. “Listen to me,” Steve called, voice echoing over the field, everyone’s faces turning to him. “You are all warriors of Asgard now! You are here to fight, and you are here to win. Nothing will stop you and nothing will slow you down.” He raised Mjolnir again and thunder began to roll. “Fight!” he roared. “Fight like your lives depend on it! If it is not now, it will be soon.”

Steve began to run first, his friends following behind, and the moment before Mjolnir met flesh, he turned to see Sam and Bucky running in perfect harmony, Sam leaping to the sky and spreading his wings out, Carol following behind him, fists and eyes alight as she covered herself in flame, and Bucky raised his gun and began to fire. 

Steve smiled and crushed through various Alf warriors, lightning crackling around him, and he leapt up, bringing down his hammer, throwing back an entire swath of warriors with one great swing. Behind him, Jotun warriors surged forward, cutting down massive amounts of warriors with great swings of their massive axes, and Steve laughed to see it. 

How could they lose? How could any army stand against this? How could any battle not be won with this strength at hand? How could Thanos even dare to stand against this?

Carol soared through, bolts of power sending warriors down to the ground, and Steve activated the Power Stone, swinging out power in a whip until all the warriors around him were pushed back and wrapped up in poisonous purple power. It was not even a battle, not truly, and Steve pushed back a few more Alf warriors before calling a stop to the whole thing.

“Halt!” he boomed out, shaking power out of his hand and then reaching down to help the nearest fallen Alf soldier up to his feet. “Stop your fighting!” he cried, turning to watch as hundreds of soldiers followed his command, as they immediately moved to check out the health and wellness of the warriors that only moments before had been their enemies. “Regroup around me!”

They complied, Carol and Sif stepping up in front of him, Natigus and Valkyrie behind them, and Steve glanced behind himself to see Sam land on the ground next to Bucky, glancing over him and talking to him quietly before bringing him over to Steve. Steve raised an eyebrow at him and Sam just nodded, so Steve turned his attention back to the leaders of the various factions coming back to him.

“Well?” he asked, hanging Mjolnir off his belt. “I feel like that went well.”

There were varying levels of agreement and then to his surprise, Natigus spoke up. “May I offer a suggestion, Sire?”

“Of course.”

“You and the Captain are too powerful for these...mock trials. To properly assess our strength, we must find it without you.”

Steve considered that and then glanced at Carol, who looked back at him, searching his face, and then nodded. Steve knew she needed the fight the same way he did. Steve turned to the other leaders of the other warriors, asking them if they agreed, and then he and Carol decided to stay off to the side for the next one. Sif joined them, saying that she could not leave Steve unguarded while there were so many potential threats to his life, and Steve waited until everyone was back in position before calling for another battle to begin. 

It was fascinating to watch, really, as masses of flesh collided, crushing into each other, doing their best not to cause their opponents harm but often being unable to avoid it. Sam and a few of the winged Alf warriors met each other in the sky, Steve making mental notes on getting more airborne warriors. His eyes caught on Bucky and he smiled. It was good to see his friend in battle again.

“Well?” Carol asked. “What do you think?”

“I can see some areas for improvement,” Steve replied. “We’re weak from overhead. There aren’t very many heavyweight Aesir, and that’s a weakness that the Jotnar and the Vanir seem to make up for. What about long range weaponry?”

“Aesir, of course,” Sif offered up, both of them turning slightly to look back at her. “It is Alfheim’s specialty.” She motioned to the archers in the rear of their guard, the endless arrows crashing down and disappearing before they made contact with their opponents. “What are you thinking, Sire?”

Steve scratched at his beard. “Carol, we’ll have you overhead. You take out whatever ships he has, make them stranded here with us. You go out into space and make sure they don’t have a rear guard ready to surprise us.” She nodded with a smile. “What about jump points?”

“Earth doesn’t have any ships capable,” Carol reminded him.

“Asgard does,” Sif reminded them. “We can send a fleet of them to Midgard.”

Steve nodded. “Good.” He watched the battle for a few more minutes and then took Mjolnir in his hand, calling down thunder. “Halt!” he boomed, striding forward, Sif and Carol following behind. “I have seen what I needed to see. Sif, go find some seidrmadrs who can conjure up overhead enemies.” She nodded and took quickly off in the direction of the palace. Valkyrie quickly took her place at Steve’s side and he sent her a thankful look before continuing on, “The biggest thing with these outriders is that their numbers are almost endless. We start strong and have to end strong. If we falter, if we hesitate, if we grow tired, they overpower us.”

One of the Aesir Generals came forward, tapping the butt of her spear on the ground as she walked. “We are strong,” she told him, her chin held high. Steve had watched her fight and she was remarkably assured and talented. “Asgard does not know defeat, Sire. We will prevail.”

The Aesir troops behind her whooped and Steve grinned. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. Now, Carol, you and Sam go overhead. Sam, look for weaknesses, see if you can catch any of them off guard with overhead attacks. Carol, when Sif gets back with the seidrmadrs, they’re going to create holographic ships in the sky. We need to see how fast you can destroy each of them.”

Carol grinned, power curling up around her fists as she nodded. “It would be my pleasure,” she replied, and Steve told everyone to go back to their positions as a few Jotnar handed out cups of calopium tea to various tired soldiers. Steve let them all take a rest while they waited for Sif’s return. 

It did not take her long, and she brought Alverus and Nidi, both of whom greeted Steve even as he raised his eyebrows at their presence. “Were you the only seidrmadrs available?” he asked drolly.

“Lady Sif asked for us personally,” Nidi replied. “She said the Prince needed two powerful seidrmadrs.”

Steve just sighed. “Fine. We need two projections of spaceships up above the battlefield that Carol can destroy.” He motioned to Carol, who waved.

The two seidrmadrs frowned and exchanged glances. “How large of ships, Prince? How realistic?”

Steve turned to look at Valkyrie and Carol, who both offered up guesses. Steve sighed. “Big. As big as you can manage.”

“That would take far longer than we have now to prepare and cast,” Nidi informed him. Steve frowned at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Loki could do it,” Steve retorted.

“Loki is not here.”

Steve was reminded of that every time he looked to his right and did not see his husband where he belonged, so he just glared at the two seidrmadrs. “You mean to tell me that two of Asgard’s seidrmadrs cannot conjure up two fascimiles of spaceships? Does my realm truly keep such poor masters of their craft?” When they did not immediately answer, Steve turned away from them. “Alright, we’ll do without the spacecraft for now. When we actually find a competent seidrmadr, we’ll have them conjure up what I’m looking for.” He glanced at Nidi and Alverus and then motioned towards the gathered Aesir soldiers. “You two, go fight. This is a mock battle, so nothing permanent.”

“Prince—”

“You surely cannot be refusing me _twice?_ ”

Both pairs of eyes went wide and the two seidrmadrs scurried past the generals to stand uncomfortably in the middle of the troops, talking quietly between themselves. Good. Maybe this would teach them to do what Steve wanted and not act like they were incapable of simple acts of seidr. He motioned for Carol to go above and she became flooded with power as she leapt up into the sky, and he and Sif went back off to the side as everyone got into their positions.

A roll of thunder had them all beginning to attack again and Steve watched carefully, assessing and taking mental notes. “What do you think?” he asked Sif, who stepped up next to him, both hands clasped around her spear.

“I believe the barbarians and Jotun should be off to the sides to cut off any path of travel for the outriders. If they herd everyone into the middle and we surround them, our archers can quickly cut down their numbers. Coupled with the skill of your Avengers...Sire, I do truly have faith that we can win.”

Steve grinned at that and called a halt to the mock battles for the day. He waited for Sam and Bucky and hugged both of them, one in each arm. “How d’you feel?” he asked Bucky as he stepped back, waving to Valkyrie as she called over that she was going to Midgard for the night.

Bucky ducked his chin and reached over for Sam, who quickly slid a hand across his lower back and pulled him in close. Bucky lifted his seidr arm, curling his dark red hand into a fist. “Good,” he replied, like he was uncertain of it, but his cheeks were flushed and his hair was in wild curls and Steve grinned at him. “I’ve never fought of my own free will. Not really.”

“You went into the army,” Steve replied incredulously.

Bucky chuckled, shook his head. “I was drafted, punk. But I followed you and look where that got me.” Steve rolled his eyes. “I guess...it’s nice to choose something.”

Steve nodded and they began to walk back towards the palace. “Good,” he called back to Bucky. “There’s gonna be a lot of decisions coming your way.”

“Hell does that mean?” Bucky muttered, causing Sam to laugh.

“It’s Steve,” Sam just chuckled. “He’s fulla shit, you know that.”

Bucky leaned his head in close so he could gently knock his skull against Sam’s. “Glad to see someone else has realized that.”

In front of them, Steve just grinned to himself.


	16. chapter fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it feels kind of wild to be posting fanfiction with everything going on in the world right now, but. well. not sure what else to do. find your closest bail bond fundraiser and donate to them, call your representatives, protest if you can, donate and amplify if you cannot. black lives matter, justice for george floyd and every other Black person who has lost their lives to police brutality, 1312. good luck and stay safe.

T’Challa, Shuri, Okoye, a few other Dora Milaje, Sam, Bucky, and Tony all stood outside the Wakandan palace on the landing pad, waiting for the Bifrost to open. They had all been working tirelessly for the last month, all over the world and Sam and Bucky had come back from Asgard to work with the Dora Milaje and various other Wakandan forces on some of Steve’s military tactics for the battle against Thanos. Shuri and Tony had been working on the device that turned air into Niflheim mist, with some assistance from Clint, who had been giving help with the seidr necessary for the machine to work and had also brought back a winged harness for Sam from Alfheim. Sam had basically spent every waking hour up in the sky, training and playing practical jokes on people. T’Challa had been doing a bit more diplomatic work with the Avengers and SHIELD, as well as rallying the other tribes and speaking with their rulers. Bucky had thrown himself into the thick of it, forcing himself to train with the Dora Milaje and the Hatut Zeraze who had come home to fight.

But they were only days away now, and Asgard’s forces were coming.

A lone strike of lightning speared down from the storm clouds above, rattling all of Wakanda with a crashing boom, and when the smoke cleared, Steve stood alone, dressed in shining Asgardian armor, long red cape trailing behind him and catching the wind, Mjolnir in hand. He raised a hand to them and then lifted Mjolnir to the sky, purple lightning arcing out from the hammer, calling forth a great swirl of wind and a rumble of thunder, and then the Bifrost opened.

Steve deftly moved out of the way as the first of the Aesir soldiers began to funnel through the Bifrost, Natasha and Carol and the Valkyrie coming through first, moving quickly over to the small group and greeting them with handshakes or hugs. Tony took a few steps forward, staring in shock as Einherjar began to file out, spreading out into long lines past the landing bay and out into the fields beyond.

Bucky chuckled and Sam stepped up next to Tony to say, “This is just the first wave. Only a few hundred or so of them.”

“When do the rest come?” T’Challa asked Sam, who shrugged one shoulder. He was in his Captain America uniform, folded golden wings upon his back, shield on his arm, and Bucky grinned at him. “This is...we knew there would be many, but this is...great.”

“Stark Industries has opened various facilities and warehouses to keep them all for the next few days,” Tony offered up, sounding almost dazed. His eyes were locked on the Bifrost portal and Sam elbowed him in the side to get his attention off it. Tony shook his head slightly and then looked up at him. “Barton’s been going through them all week to make sure they’re up to snuff. I got a call from one of the security managers that told me he filled one of the buildings with snow, and then another he filled with fire. Or lava or something.”

“No way they could all stay here,” Sam replied with a shrug. T’Challa voiced agreement from behind him. A battle was one story but even temporarily housing thousands of creatures from all over the galaxy? Wakanda was great, but T’Challa doubted anywhere was _that_ great. The last few soldiers finally came through the portal, Sif being the last one out, and then it closed with a small snap.

Steve spoke quickly with a few of the generals and then jogged over to them, a wide grin on his face. He greeted T’Challa first, the two of them clasping one another’s wrists and then giving a firm shake, and then he smiled at the rest of them. He and Bucky hugged one another and then Steve began giving his plan. He looked around for Loki and Clint, but neither of them were around, but Steve knew they were both rather busy, and he didn’t worry about it.

“I have brought the armies,” Steve told T’Challa, who laughed lightly.

“And I have the battlefield,” T’Challa replied, stepping around Steve to move past him to get closer to the gathered Einherjar.

“These are only the first soldiers?” Shuri asked, following her brother, tapping on the tablet in her hands.

“Yes,” Steve replied, hooking Mjolnir onto his belt before following them. The rest of them all tagged along. “These are the most highly trained and exceptional warriors that Asgard has to offer. I trust each and every one of them with my life.”

Sif, who stood at the front of the guard, called for attention, and the Einherjar all straightened and held ready for inspection. Sif bowed slightly to them and stepped back so T’Challa could get a good look at everyone. Each of the Einherjar stared straight ahead as T’Challa walked down the rows, Steve walking alongside him, Okoye following along behind.

Natasha, the Valkyrie, Bucky, Sam, Carol, and Tony all hung back with Shuri, the various Dora Milaje gathering around them in a loose semicircle. Shuri examined a few of the pieces of armor on the closest Einherjar and asked Sam about it, who shrugged at it. “No idea,” Sam told her. “I just know it works.”

Shuri shot him a dirty look and Sam snorted at her. “Clint would know,” Sam mused. “But he’s off God knows where.”

“I think he said they might be going to New York,” Bucky tried. “Loki kept making weird comments about leaving a stone unturned and Clint was getting all annoyed over it.”

“They’re in New York?” Tony repeated with a frown. “I sold the Tower after Ultron destroyed it.”

“I doubt that’s why he’s going there,” Natasha murmured, giving Bucky a sharp look. She clearly knew something he didn’t know, but was clearly refusing to expound on it. 

“I know their armor is geared towards utility in battle,” Carol offered up to Shuri, who was poking at the two discs on the chest of the closest Einherjar. “The discs designate rank and there are specific designs that are for abilities or feats in battle.”

“How did you know that?” Valkyrie asked her, shooting her a confused look. She stepped up next to Shuri and pointed out a few things on the Einherjar Shuri was examining, Shuri quickly writing them down after taking a picture with her tablet. 

“I asked,” Carol shrugged. “I was curious. I noticed that a few of them had different decorative designs on their armor and they reminded me of Air Force rank insignias.” Sam held out a fist and Carol silently fist bumped him. Bucky rolled his eyes at the two of them and he and Natasha shared an amused look. 

Valkyrie and Shuri chatted for a few minutes and Tony finally managed to pull himself out of his funk enough to say, “My therapist told me to stay away from things like this. She said it’s not good for me.”

“I don’t think it’s good for anyone,” Sam replied, looking away from Steve and T’Challa talking on the far side of the gathered Einherjar to look down at Tony. “But we gotta do what we gotta do, man.”

“I know,” Tony muttered, shaking his head. “It’s just...real, all of a sudden.”

Sam gave him a sympathetic look and scratched at the back of his head before telling Tony, “I had some real bad PTSD after Riley died and I left the Air Force. I know you do too. It’s rough. But we gotta get through it.” Silently, Bucky reached out and took Sam’s hand, and Sam smiled back at him and squeezed his hand in return.

Tony took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds and then let it out. He nodded. “We’ll get through it,” he repeated, and then pulled out his phone. “I gotta get back to work. Tell Superman over there I said to call me when he’s done.” He jogged back to the palace, one of the Dora Milaje breaking off to go with him.

“Stark!” came Clint’s voice from an entryway into the palace, and Tony stopped in front of him, Clint greeting him with a grin. “Hey, I got something for you.” Clint handed him a small stone and Tony frowned down at it.

“Put it in your suit. It’ll help direct the seidr in a way that hopefully won’t kill you.”

Tony held it up to the light and squinted at it. “What is it?”

“Somethin’ real expensive,” Clint chuckled. “Alright, I got shit to do.” He gave Tony a mock salute and then jogged past Sam and the rest of them and joined up with Steve and T’Challa. Steve greeted him with a one-armed hug and Clint grinned up at him. “Been awhile.” He leaned around Steve and winked at T’Challa. “Where’s the big guy?”

“He will come down soon. I wanted the Einherjar to train with Wakanda’s forces at least once.” _Where’s Loki?_

 _Brewing potions. He’s at a critical stage right now, but he’ll come see you once he’s able._ “That’s great. Loving the outfit, by the way. Really goin’ all out with the whole Prince thing, huh?” Clint grinned up at Steve and then over at T’Challa, who raised an eyebrow at him. “I know you’re more of the understated type, but what do you think about all the gold?”

“I find it a bit overwhelming,” T’Challa replied stiffly, a bit of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Clint laughed at him. “But I suppose the enemy will be so blinded by the sun hitting the armor that they will not even be able to fight us.”

“This is ceremonial armor,” Steve spoke up, sounding a bit grumpy, but then he ran his hand through his hair and smiled. “Anyway, your Highness, when does it work to start training?”

T’Challa turned on his heel and spoke in quick Xhosa to Okoye, who inclined her head to him and then strode off quickly back towards the palace, raising her spear in a battle cry. The Dora Milaje gathered around the group at the front of the Einherjar raised their spears in return and then they ran off to gather up the rest of them and warriors from other tribes.

“Does now work?” T’Challa drawled. Steve grinned at him. Clint rolled his eyes at the both of them and patted Steve on the back. The three of them made their way back to the front of the Einherjar and T’Challa activated his claw necklace, covering himself in the Black Panther suit, and Steve pulled Mjolnir off his belt and held it up, purple lightning flickering around the hammer and down his arm. 

“Soldiers of Asgard!” he boomed out. “We fight!”

The Einherjar stomped their feet and their weapons and roared in return.

The Dora Milaje returned, followed by dozens of warriors from various other tribes, along with the Hatut Zeraze. T’Challa led them all out to the largest field and the two forces faced off against each other. Seidr flickered over the whole of the Einherjar and they were all in battle gear, holding more weapons and Steve gave them all a look of pride; they had all been working very hard over the past few months and Steve knew, beyond any reasonable doubt, that he had the best army in all the Nine Realms, if not all the galaxy.

Clint and Shuri went off to the side, Clint creating a secure platform for the two of them that floated above the battlefield. Shuri gave him a shrewd look and told him she was going to figure out how he and Loki did that while Steve and T’Challa separated the Avengers into two groups. Steve took Bucky, Sam, and Natasha, and T’Challa got Carol and Valkyrie. Steve called up to Clint if he wanted to fight but Clint waved him off. He was far too powerful to make the battle equal in any way.

Both Steve and T’Challa turned to their respective armies and called out instructions—a mock battle, of course, and no real harm. But they needed to figure out how to complement their fighting styles and Steve had to figure out where the various Wakandan tribes were going to go into the battle that was only days away.

Clint conjured up a big siren and set it off to signify the start of the battle. Shuri jumped when he used it and then elbowed him in the side. Clint winked at her and then the two of them peered out over the edge of the platform as the two armies crashed against each other. The Einherjar were clearly holding back but the Wakandan armies posed a formidable force, quick and fast with their spears and arrows and spears and swords. Sam and Carol both took to the sky, Carol sending reduced, almost harmless blasts of energy down, and Sam fired rubber bullets and knocked a few warriors off their feet with his shield. Bucky didn’t use his gun but punched his way through as many warriors as he could, fending off spears and swords and even catching an arrow out of the sky and breaking it in his fingers. Natasha and Valkyrie faced off against each other, the two of them laughing as they exchanged fisticuffs.

There was a blast of sound and Clint and Shuri looked up to see Iron Man flying overhead. Clint waved at him and Tony came down, hovering in front of them, and his visor slid back, revealing his face. “They need help?” Tony called over to them.

“Help out Wakanda!” Shuri crowed. “We must win!”

Tony winked at her, visor sliding back down, and he flew off, sending low powered blasts at the Einherjar, and a few of them turned their attention to the sky, fighting back against him.

Long, cool fingers spread over the back of Clint’s neck, sliding under the golden snake wrapped around it, and he turned up to give Loki a fond, affectionate look, leaning into his side. Shuri glanced over the two of them, rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to the mock battle down below.

_Steve is wearing a cape?_

_Yeah. It was a lot longer before the fight started, too._

_Balder gave him a ceremonial cape. How interesting._

Clint snorted. _You’re really surprised?_

Sam flew by and buffeted them with a long golden wing, sending a harsh wave of wind over them, and Loki waved a hand, curling the wind back around and catching Sam off balance, sending him plummeting back towards the ground. But Loki’s seidr caught him right before he hit and threw him back up into the sky. Sam managed to regain his wings and flipped them off before going back to the fight.

Steve and T’Challa met in the middle, exchanging punches and spear thrusts and Mjolnir hits, and T’Challa absorbed one of the hits from the hammer and then sent the kinetic energy back at Steve, who was thrown back and then Sif charged forward, knocking T’Challa down, pinning him to the dirt with her spear. T’Challa laughed and called for the battle to break. Steve leapt up into the air and stopped the battle with a roll of thunder, everyone quickly coming to a stop and then turning around to help everyone to their feet and make certain no one was hurt too badly. Steve and T’Challa met in the middle as their armies separated and stood behind their Captains, Sam, Tony, and Carol coming down from the sky.

Loki ruffled Clint’s hair and dropped him and Shuri back down to the grass before disappearing again. Shuri moved through the warriors, focused on her tablet, and Clint followed behind her, smiling at the Einherjar he recognized. A few of them inclined their heads to him as he walked past. Clint and Shuri met up with Steve and T’Challa, the other Avengers gathering up around them in a loose circle.

 _Was Loki here?_ Steve asked Clint as he stepped up to Steve’s right hand.

_Yeah, just for a minute. He’s in the middle of a potion and then we’re heading to New York._

Steve sent him a questioning look but nodded, turning back to T’Challa, hooking Mjolnir onto his belt. “Shuri,” he asked, “what did you see?”

Shuri tapped on her tablet a few more times and then a hologram of the battlefield came up. A couple more taps and small soldiers appeared on both sides of the holographic field. Tony moved forward, looking over her shoulder at the tablet, visor sliding back off his face as he looked at the dozens of equations flickering across the screen. Tony gave a low whistle and Shuri held the tablet up a bit so he could see better. She tapped the screen a few more times and then said, “The Einherjar are susceptible to overhead attacks.” The small holographic Wakandan warriors leveled spears up and hit a few of the holographic Einherjar. “How do you intend to overcome this weakness? We have kinetic shields that our people can utilize, but your soldiers have not trained in this, and I cannot imagine they would pick it up in just a few days.”

“We have winged warriors from Alfheim,” Steve replied, nodding in agreement. He motioned Sam forward, pointing out his winged harness. “There’s also various giants that will fight with us. We’re putting our heavies in front and on the sides, winged overhead, and humans in the middle, with ranged warriors and seidrmadrs in the rear.”

“How are we supposed to train with everyone? How many soldiers is that?” Tony spoke up, looking to Clint, who rubbed the back of his neck.

“Current estimate is about 11,000,” Clint replied, “plus whatever comes from Helheim. We started off with a rough estimate of 12,000, figured we would get anywhere from 8-10,000, so this is pretty good numbers. But, yeah, tactically speaking, you can’t train that large of a force.” He glanced around the gathered warriors and then over the massive field they were in. “Even in a place like this.”

T’Challa nodded. “Wakanda simply does not have space large enough for forces of that size,” he replied, his hood melting back into his necklace so he could rub a hand over his face. “Do we bring in smaller groups from each force and train with them then?”

Steve considered that, turning to look at Carol and Sif, who were both thinking it through. An Einherjar general cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Sire,” she started, waiting for Steve to nod so she could continue. Steve nodded and she said, “Our forces have been under your tutelage for many months now. You are the War Prince of Asgard. You have effectively and efficiently weaponized all of the forces in the entire Nine Realms. What training we may need is little, and would make no difference in the heat of battle. I believe you should trust your troops and let us fight.”

Steve considered that and Valkyrie spoke up, “We all know that when it comes down to it, when we’re all in the dirt and fighting for blood, plans mean little.” Steve nodded in agreement.

“How are all of the troops getting here?” Sam asked.

“We’re opening the Bifrost and then sorcerers from Kamar-Taj are opening portals for each platoon and sending them to their temporary housing,” Clint spoke up, poking at the holographic warriors. Steve smacked his hand out of the air without looking at him.

“So, what, why don’t we just tell each platoon while they come through the plan? Where they are in the fight?” Sam asked. Everyone thought about it for a minute and then Steve nodded, deciding he was right.

“What else can be done?” Steve asked, looking to Sif.

“Tell each leader of their armies together,” Sif added in. “Bring each of them together and have them inform their people. Respect their authority in their position and allow them the honor of telling their warriors how they will fight in battle. After all, they will die for this.” Carol and Valkyrie both nodded in agreement and Steve sighed, looking down at Mjolnir in his hand before pushing his shoulders back and lifting his chin in resolution.

“That’s what we’ll do,” he decided. “When they come, we’ll tell them.”

“When is that?” T’Challa spoke up.

Clint glanced up to the sky. “What time is it?”

“Almost 2pm.”

 _What time is it on Asgard?_ Clint asked Loki, who was dropping crushed simbelmyne petals into a lime green potion.

_It is the time it is on Asgard, as it is the time it is on Midgard._

_You know you’re ridiculous, right?_

Loki laughed at that, turning his attention back to his potion. 

Clint looked up at Steve. “Probably just a couple more hours. I’ll call Stephen.”

Steve nodded at him and gave him a small mental nudge, so Clint dug out his phone and jogged off the field, the Einherjar making a path for him. He called Stephen, put the phone on speaker, and then dropped it into the air so it floated next to his head as he jogged away from the battleground. He got a couple dozen yards away from the closest warriors and then stopped to turn back and watch as his phone rang the call through. 

“Hello?” came Stephen’s voice, clipped and annoyed.

“Stephen! Babe! Sugar pie! Gotta question for ya.”

“As long as you stop calling me that, I’ll answer it.”

Clint smiled. “Sure. You know you love it. Anyway, remember how you said some of your witches would be available today to open portals for troops coming into Wakanda?”

“Yes, I do remember that,” Stephen said slowly, as if he thought Clint was going to spring something new on him.

“You happen to have any idea of when you think that might be?”

“Loki and I agreed on 6pm for my sorcerers and Bruce to come to Wakanda.”

“Great! That’s perfect.”

“Why are you asking, Clint?”

“Well, a lot of this plan kinda revolves around your witches showing up.”

“You know we’re not witches.”

“Technically a witch is a seidrmadr who pulls seidr from other dimensions or objects or people. Ergo, witches. But it’s great you and Loki figured that out.”

Stephen let out a harsh sigh. “Alright, I have a couple minutes free.” There was the sound of fabric rustling on Stephen’s end and then the distinct sound of a door shutting. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Oh, you mean _besides_ the whole apocalypse coming?”

“You’ve been readying for this for years. What is it, Clint?”

Clint let out a short, harsh breath. “Look. We don’t know what comes after this. Hopefully all that happens afterwards is that everything goes back to normal and all we have to worry about is whatever villain of the week comes up. But we don’t _know_. Killing Thanos could change everything, and it’s the only thing that’s never happened before. Every single other thing has happened in every revolution except for this. So it’s the only thing I don’t know.”

Stephen didn’t answer for a few seconds, and then he said, “That’s normal, Clint. That’s how everyone else lives.”

“I know that. But that doesn’t _help._ ” He glanced over the Einherjar standing near and then turned away from them, looking back up at the palace where he knew Loki was holed up. “You know what’s going to happen, right?”

“I...I...yes. I know various potential futures, but I know which one will happen.”

“Will you tell me?”

“Clint, I love you, but no.”

Clint squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, taking in a shuddering breath. “Alright,” he breathed out. “Is it bad?” Stephen didn’t answer for long enough for Clint to gasp out, “ _Stephen_. I need you to tell me.”

“Everything is going to be alright. We’ll be together.”

“Loki?”

“He loves you, more than anyone else has been loved. I think you need to take solace in that.”

Clint nodded. “Alright,” he said, clearing his throat and opening his eyes. “You’ll be here tonight?”

“Of course. If there isn’t anything else?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see you then.” Clint ended the call and disappeared his phone, rubbing his hands over his face. He took a moment for himself, just to think about everything that was going to come, the only thing he didn’t know, and then he turned back to the battlefield and jogged back to Steve and the other Avengers. “Stephen said he’ll be here around six,” Clint told them. “So we’ve got a few hours.”

“Good,” Steve replied with a nod. “Then that leaves us only a little time to begin.” He motioned to Carol and Valkyrie. “I’ll have Heimdall open the Bifrost for you. You two need to make sure everything is ready. Talk to Balder. You know things work slower there.”

Carol and Valkyrie both nodded and jogged through the Einherjar gathered around them. Steve called for Heimdall and the Bifrost opened, taking the two of them away. Steve nodded to himself and then looked to Tony. “What are you working on?”

“My suit,” Tony replied. “Super busy with that. Anyway, what’s with that whole War Prince thing? You trying to take my Merchant of Death thing, because I’ve kind of got that on lockdown and I don’t need anyone trying to take my steez.”

Steve laughed at him. “I’m working on it,” he replied. “Go finish that. You need Clint’s help?”

“Hey, I kinda got stuff going on,” Clint interjected. “But I can help for a little bit.”

Tony nodded, visor lowering down over his face, and grabbed Clint around the waist and took off to the sky, flying back to the palace.

“You know I can just fly myself there, right!?” Clint yelled at him. Mechanical laughter came out of the suit and Tony pretended to drop him before spinning the two of them through the air even as Clint struggled to get out of his grasp. Tony landed the two of them on a balcony outside the rooms he had been given, and Clint wrestled out of his grasp as Tony’s suit unfolded and disappeared back into the two bracelets around his wrists. Clint glared at him and dusted himself off as Tony laughed at him and then moved past him to the new suit hanging from a harness over a small platform, surrounded by dozens of various tools and diagrams and blueprints.

Tony walked over to the closest table and tapped a few buttons on the screen on the edge, and rock music began to play throughout the room. Clint rolled his eyes. Tony turned to him and asked, “Ready to get started?”

“Stark, I was born ready.”

* * *

Steve went in for the hug first, holding Loki as tight as he was able, and if they’d been anywhere other than in the middle of a field, surrounded by almost every Avenger and warriors from Asgard and Wakanda, Loki would’ve melted into his arms and never left his embrace. But, as it was, Loki uncomfortably put his hands on Steve’s waist and stood stiffly in his embrace. Steve pulled back and Loki tipped his head down for the two of them to press their foreheads together for a long moment before Loki took a pointed step back and smiled slightly at him.

Green eyes flickered over Steve’s Aesir armor, his gold armor tinted with red and blue, and as Loki looked a bit closer, his long red cape was embroidered with white thread. He looked so very handsome. “Husband,” Loki murmured, dropping his eyes to the ground and then glancing around at everyone gathered around them, all of them pretending like they weren’t watching their reunion. “I am glad to see you again.”

Steve nodded, a small smile creasing his lips, and then he turned to look back at everyone gathered around them. Sam and Bucky were off to the side, a bit separated from everyone else, heads tilted together, laughing over something, and Steve resolved himself, moving forward and calling Mjolnir to him. He wondered if the feeling of _rightness_ would ever lessen as the hammer hit his hand, if it would ever feel less like Mjolnir belonged with him. He raised his hammer to the sky and called for Heimdall, and then the Bifrost opened.

There were various Einherjar posted about the field, telling the soldiers from other Realms where to go, and they were coupled with witches from Kamar-Taj, who opened portals to various Stark Industries warehouses and filed the thousands and thousands of warriors through. The Avengers started out talking and laughing and admiring the various uniforms of the warriors, but as the numbers continued to grow and the field became filled with frost giants and fire giants and winged Alfar and the Nif and the barbarians from Vanaheim, everyone grew silent, watching in shock and awe.

Loki stepped up next to Steve, tucking his hand into Steve’s arm as they watched all of their months and years of hard work come to fruition. “It really is lovely,” Loki murmured.

“This is all because of you,” Steve told him, looking up to the sky, past the Bifrost, to the blue sky beyond, where they could see the far-off glimmer of Thanos’s ships, coming ever closer. They were no more than two or three days away from the most important battle of their lives. “You’re the reason we’re all here, even able to do this, prepared to stop him.” Steve’s gaze turned to the hundreds of soldiers from the Nine Realms coming out of the Bifrost and moving off to the various portals. Each of the highest ranking officials from each army were stopped by Stephen and told to wait for Steve to talk to them.

Loki nodded and then let out a small sigh. “I still have two things left to do,” he told Steve, who raised his eyebrows at him. “Then we will be truly ready.”

“Something to do with New York?”

“Aye,” Loki sighed. “Something, yes. And then I must go to Hel.”

“Ah.” Steve nodded, rubbed at his chin. “I thought you already went.”

“I must admit to being...hesitant.”

“Not that I blame you, but you know we need her,” Steve pressed. “Do you know what she’s going to ask for?”

Loki nodded, pulling out the Soul Stone and floating it in the air between them. “I know what she wants,” he replied softly. “It will be difficult, but...we will win.”

“Will you tell me?”

“Do you truly wish to know?”

Steve considered that, and then said, “Do I need to? Does it change anything between us? Your soul?”

“No,” Loki said, shaking his head. “She will take nothing from me.”

“Then no, I don’t need to know. I trust you.”

Loki’s mouth curled in a wry smile. “You do. For some...unfathomable reason, you do.”

Steve reached up and threaded his hand through the hair at the back of Loki’s head, gently turning his head so Loki was looking down at him. “I trust you because I know you,” Steve told him, voice soft. “I _know_ you.” Loki’s thin lips curled in a smile and he leaned down to kiss Steve, who gently and kindly kissed him in return. “We’ll leave soon. But we will be back, on the eve of battle, to fight.”

Steve smiled at him, kissed Loki again, and then let him go.

* * *

“This is stupid,” Clint said, and it wasn’t like he was wrong. The two of them stood outside an old, poorly taken care of apartment building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Natasha had been the one to find the location of the building for Loki, which had Clint even more annoyed. “Really stupid.”

Loki shrugged one shoulder. He was dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and a black tie and black shoes, his hair slicked back. His fingernails were painted gold and on closer inspection, his clothes were threaded with gold. Clint was wearing a purple short-sleeved button up and blue jeans and dark brown boots, the ruby-hilted dagger sheathed on his belt, and the golden snake was wrapped around his neck.

“Perhaps,” Loki murmured. “But it is what we’re going to do.”

Clint groaned and dragged himself inside the apartment after Loki, who led him up a few flights of stairs to apartment H. Loki motioned Clint towards the door and Clint groaned and rolled his eyes and reluctantly knocked.

It took a minute, but Jacques Duquense opened the door. He blew a cloud of cigarette smoke at the two of them and then froze once he recognized them.

“Hello,” Loki greeted with a sharp smile. “Let us in, won’t you?”

Jacques didn’t say anything but let out a hacking cough and stepped back to let them in. His apartment was fairly small, and felt smaller for all the clutter and trash, everything stained yellow with cigarette smoke. He coughed again and then led them into his small living room, taking up post on his old, disgusting armchair, motioning them to the small couch adjacent to the chair. Loki and Clint both grimaced but sat, perching on the edge of the nasty couch.

“So, you’re here,” Jacques finally said. His voice was almost just as Clint remembered—cruelty tinged with a vague French accent. “Come to kill me, then?”

“Not quite yet,” Loki spoke up, crossing one leg over the other and clasping his hands in his lap. “First, I have questions for you.”

Jacques lit another cigarette and blew the smoke at Loki. “Go ahead, alien. I’m retired; I have plenty of time.”

“Barney Barton is currently regaining his honor in service to Asgard,” Loki informed him. “You, however, have no honor to regain. You blackmailed Barney in order to gain information on both myself and Clint in order to gain money. Am I missing anything?”

Jacques shrugged one shoulder. “Does it matter? You’re here now, and I doubt I’ll come out of this alive.”

“Why?” Clint finally asked. “Why do this to me? What did I ever do to you, Duquesne?”

Jacques didn’t say anything, but his eyes flicked over Clint’s body and Loki finally understood.

“Ah,” he said, and then Loki reached over and pressed a finger to the stone behind Clint’s ear. Clint slumped down, eyes rolling into the back of his head, and then Loki removed his hearing aids and tucked them away into his suit pocket. He turned his attention back to Jacques and said, “Did Thor put you up to this?”

“Met him only the once,” Jacques sighed out. “Few years ago now. He came to Earth, told me he’d pay me for information on Clint. Knew that meant he wanted information on you too. So I found a guy that Barney owed money to, bought the debt, and gave him a call.”

Loki nodded. “What did Thor give you for it?”

Jacques’s eyes fell to Clint again. Loki hid his grimace. Of course. Now he merely had to find out if it was from Thor or an urge from a very long time ago. “Nothin’,” Jacques muttered. “Didn’t need nothin’ other than money.”

Loki nodded. Then he turned to Clint and quickly and efficiently unbuttoned his shirt. “I’ll give him to you,” Loki said. “For an hour. I’ll make him compliant and he will do anything you wish.”

“All night. You’re going to kill me afterwards.”

“Four hours and you tell me everything.”

Jacques lit another cigarette and nodded. He talked through smoke as he said, “Not much to say. Thor found me, told me he needed information, I said I’d get it to him. He never came back for it, which I guess worked out, since I never got anything. Barney never followed through, the asshole.”

“Why did he send the letters?”

“Why the fuck would I know?” Loki pointedly cleared his throat and Jacques rolled his eyes, smoke twisting out of his nostrils. “Fine. He wanted leverage to get more information.”

Loki nodded. Of course it all came from Thor. _Everything_ came from Thor. He sighed to himself; all he ever wanted to know was _why_ —why find someone that Clint hadn’t even talked to for twenty years to send after him? It must’ve been during the time Loki had been locked out of Asgard; Thor had to have known about the bond between Loki and Clint. Had he thought that sending Jacques and Barney after them would fracture it? He must have. He wanted to kill Thor all over again.

“And you agreed for the chance to have Clint? Did you always want him?”

“You put some sort of spell on me?” Jacques asked in return.

“I can, if you wish.”

“He was...I’ve never seen anything like it. That kind of skill is...unbelievable. Beyond anything else I’ve ever witnessed. It was natural. I started out teaching him to throw knives, but he picked up a bow and it was like it belonged in his hand. I didn’t want him, not when he was young, but as he got older and better and more skilled...I started thinkin’. Just thoughts. Never did nothin’. Not sure how Thor knew about it, but he did. Sometimes he looked at me the same way you’re lookin’ now, like he knew every thought in my head and it didn’t matter what I said, he knew the truth. I…” Jacques trailed off, brow furrowed. His cigarette burned down to the filter but he didn’t seem to notice. “Did I want him?” Jacques asked himself. “I don’t remember it, but Thor said I did.”

In his lap, Loki’s long hands curled into fists. Disgusting. Despicable. If Thor was not already dead, Loki would drag him up from the dirt and Hel and slaughter him again. “I am going to tell you something,” Loki said after Jacques lit another cigarette. Jacques looked at him from under his brow. “This was not your fault, but it was your doing. Thor was an insurmountable force and he had his own reasons for doing what he did. A pitiful human like yourself would not have been able to withstand his force.” He pushed to his feet and pulled out the Tesseract, touching Clint’s chest and sending him away. Then he put the cube away and looked down at Jacques. “But you must be punished. You attempted to take what is mine and you wanted to hurt him. I can see the thoughts that were put into your mind, or perhaps they were your own, but I will not abide by it.”

Jacques nodded. He took a deep breath and then let out a hacking cough. “Let me drink a beer before you do this,” he said, and Loki inclined his head and watched Jacques heave himself up off the chair and move slowly and stiffly to the disgusting, reeking fridge, pulling out the last can of beer. He cracked the top and drank long and deep before padding slowly back to his chair. Jacques dropped back into it and lit the last cigarette of his life. “If Thor is the one who did this to me...why?”

“Because he was evil,” Loki replied stiffly, sitting back down himself and beginning to weave the spell between his fingers. “Evil does not need a reason.”

Jacques nodded. “My thoughts are consumed by him,” he admitted, his voice barely more than a breath. Loki grit his teeth. “Clint is all I think about. I imagine the feel of his skin, the way he would push against me...I lost everything because of it. I sit here and he is all I think about. If you can remove that before you kill me, just for a moment.”

Loki considered it. “Do you deserve it?” he asked simply.

“From you? No. But give an old man a rest from himself, even if for a minute.”

Loki sent up a long tendril of seidr and it swirled down to touch Jacques’s forehead. The old man shivered and then squeezed his eyes shut, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Oh,” he breathed out. “This is who I was.”

Loki nodded. The spell coming together between his hands was almost done. “If this is from Thor, as we believe it is, then it was done because of me, and it was planned for a very long time. It would not have been the first time he would have done this to you, or any version of you. Somehow, in some iteration, he found you, and it took perhaps hundreds of times for him to formulate this spell and cast it upon you. But, even as this may have not been your fault, I find...where Clint is concerned, I cannot be rational. Even though I know this is not your fault, I am going to punish you regardless.”

Jacques nodded, finally opening his eyes. His bleary eyes were teary when they focused on Loki again. “Kill me,” he whispered. “Please.”

Loki nodded and stood up. He stepped in front of Jacques, who took his last drag of his last cigarette and held the smoke in his lungs as he looked up at Loki standing over him. “Here is what is going to happen next,” Loki told him. “You are going to die. I am going to lock you inside your body, which will, for all intents and purposes, will be deceased to any and all humans around you. Your body will begin to rot around you and you will feel every single second of it. They will come and collect your corpse and they will autopsy you and you will feel all of it, every slice into your skin and every organ removed. But you will be alive anyway. You will not be able to tell anyone of your presence and you will only die after all of your blood has been drained. It will take a very long time. You will suffer. I will set an alarm on the door that will inform me if your body is found. If you are not found within the fortnight, I will place an anonymous call to the police.”

Jacques nodded. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

“I do not care,” Loki told him, and then dropped the spell onto the Swordsman. He went still, cigarette butt falling from his fingers, head slumping to the side, and Loki poked his head straight before moving around the apartment to make sure there was no evidence of his presence left. Then he stopped again in front of Jacques and bent over so they were eye-to-eye. “It has only begun,” Loki said. “It only gets worse from here.”

Then Loki straightened up and pulled out the Tesseract and went to the last place he had to go.

In his chair, Jacques stared forward, and before his body completely shut down, one last tear rolled down his cheek.

* * *

Steve sighed and shook his head. Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, and T’Challa were sitting around him, the four of them all focused on the sheaf of papers in Steve’s hands. Stephen was sitting on the couch with Steve while Tony and T’Challa were in the armchairs near them, a couple bottles of wine and various glasses scattered around the coffee table in between them. They were in Steve’s quarters in the Wakandan palace, and Steve picked up his half empty coffee cup and grimaced at the sip he took. Sif quickly came up to him and took the cup and went to the small breakfast bar to refill it while Steve continued to read.

“Alright,” he said finally, once he felt he had a good enough understanding of the document to speak on it. “This is no different from the original Sokovia Accords. It’s just different language. I still refuse to sign it, and I hope none of you have.”

“It’s not official yet,” Tony told him. “That’s just what Rhodey got. First draft of the bill, I guess. But it’s more about the fact that we’ve got the kind of power we do and it’s scary to governments.”

“There have been a remarkable number of enhanced individuals coming forward in the past few years,” Stephen offered up. Sif handed Steve his new coffee cup and he took it with a grateful smile. “I was not part of the original Accords discussion.”

“We fought in an airport,” Tony groaned out. “We all thought we were right and refused to back down. I can’t believe I’m saying this, and you can’t tell him, Cap, but Loki was right.”

“About what?” T’Challa questioned.

“He told us if we all stood against the United Nations and all of us refused to sign, they’d be stuck. They couldn’t throw us all in jail. But I’m not signing that,” Tony replied, motioning to the new Accords in Steve’s lap. “I knew they’d try something again but this is...it’s a lot.”

“Who’s this Victor Doom I see referenced?” Steve asked. 

“He’s the King or dictator of some tiny European country,” Tony replied. “He’s apparently some super genius, but I’ve never met him.”

“I have,” T’Challa spoke up, picking up a wine glass and then staring down into it. “I was not impressed by him.” He expounded when Tony made an inquisitive sound, “He wished to trade with Wakanda after I revealed our nation’s...secret, for lack of a better word, to the world. He offered us Doombots. Protection droids, I believe he said. Shuri looked at one of them and laughed him out of her lab. She said Tony Stark had built something more advanced in a cave.”

“Hey! Wait.”

T’Challa smiled slightly. “Now, going by the language in that document, we have reason to believe the Doombots are somehow connected to Doom himself. Perhaps he can see through them, or their eyes transmit video back to him. But no nation having an army that is not approved of by the U.N.?” T’Challa shook his head. “Very, very poor decision. No one will sign it.”

“Good,” Steve said. “Let me finish reading, if you gentlemen don’t mind. Stephen, you can stay.”

“Is that weird?” Tony called back as he followed T’Challa out the door. “The whole Steve-Stephen thing?”

The two of them rolled their eyes and Steve turned his attention back to the new Accords draft while Stephen tapped on his phone. Suddenly, as Steve’s coffee grew cold while he read, Clint appeared on the couch between them, unconscious and with his shirt completely open. Stephen reached out for him but Steve stopped him, shaking his head. “You touch him when he’s like this, Loki’ll cut your hands off,” Steve muttered, putting the sheaf of papers and his coffee to the side before slinging Clint up into his arms and walking to the small bedroom to carefully deposit him on the bed. Sif brought him a change of clothes and Stephen watched, concerned, as Steve gently changed his clothes for him.

“Any idea why he’s like this?” Stephen asked.

“I asked Loki but he’s not answering,” Steve sighed. “He’s alive and healthy, that’s all I know. Sif will stand guard in here, just in case.” Sif inclined her head in acquiesce and Steve herded Stephen out of the room. “I know you want to stay, but believe me, Loki won’t like it.”

Stephen opened his mouth to say something and then stopped himself, following Steve out of the bedroom, the two of them sitting back down on the couch. Steve picked back up the Accords and rubbed his hand through his hair. Stephen fooled around on his phone for a few minutes and then decided to excuse himself for the night.

“Sif,” Steve called after Stephen left. “Do you know anything about the original Sokovia Accords?”

“No, Sire,” Sif replied from her post in the doorway to the bedroom.

“I’ll find a copy for you. It’d be good for you to know about it. What it boiled down to was that the Avengers Initiative, a private company, was going to be taken over by a panel of government officials from around the world. We would have no say in the missions we would go on and Loki was going to be considered a formal threat to world peace and would have to be kept under constant watch.”

“I was under the impression that Loki had saved Sokovia from destruction.”

“Yeah,” Steve muttered. “Again, it was ridiculous. The Accords covered everyone from me, someone who had been experimented on by a government scientist, to Clint, who had just dedicated his entire life to being very good at one thing. Hell, even Bruce Banner was under the Accords, and it was just an accident that turned him into the Hulk. Tony agreed to it. I didn’t. We...we fought over it. Loki tried to get us to not fight, which in retrospect, might’ve been the first time in his life he’s ever advised for peace, but then he saved Sokovia. Thor kidnapped him, which told us that Thor had been involved with it somehow, but Loki escaped from Asgard and came back to Earth. But now they want to do it again, but with different clauses.”

Sif made an inquisitive sound and it was enough for Steve to continue.

“They want us to voluntarily wear tracking devices. We’d have to all move back into the Avengers Facility, which would be completely under SHIELD surveillance, and SHIELD would be monitored by the U.N. I haven’t read all of it yet, but it stems from this Dr. Doom in Europe who keeps trying to rise to power and the robot army he has. Maybe there’s some dregs of HYDRA left that are influencing this but I don’t think so. I think this is a fear from the government that we’re too powerful to be controlled and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s happening during this whole Thanos thing and after Loki and I got married.”

“Do you believe your government knows you have seidr now?”

“Maybe? They definitely know about Mjolnir, and there must have been concern about Loki and I getting married. Especially now that Sam has the shield...every government is worried about their constituents rising up against them. They know the people have more power than they do, and that goes doubly true when you’re trying to govern people with superpowers, essentially. Somehow, we have to convince them it's smarter to let us go our own way, with minimal to no government oversight, than it is to lock us down and let us out only when there’s a threat they think needs to be stopped, which will eventually turn into us fighting the people we promised to protect.” Steve sighed, rubbed his hand over his forehead.

“If anyone can do it, it is you, Sire,” Sif told him, right as Clint sat up in bed and called for Loki.

“He’s not here,” Steve called back. “Come in here and read this.”

“Why the hell am I in different clothes?” Clint groused as he padded into the living room. He picked up a blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders before dropping next to Steve on the couch and leaning up against him. Steve wrapped an arm around his shoulders and handed him the massive pile of papers.

“Where were you?” Steve asked him as Clint rubbed at his eyes and then conjured up coffee before paging through the new Accords.

“New York,” Clint groaned. “I have no idea what Loki did, but—wait. Why don’t I know what Loki did to Jacques?”

“Did he do it after making you unconscious?”

“He must’ve.”

Steve chuckled. “I was wondering how long it would take you to notice, honestly. He’s able to fiddle with your memories, make you forget things, which you know, but he also figured out he can get around that by doing things while you’re unconscious.”

“What!”

“Yeah, I know.”

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Clint told him, sitting up straight and turning to glare at Steve. “The whole point of everything is that I know everything he knows. I know what he’s doing right now. I know every single thing he’s ever done in every single life he’s ever lived.”

“What _is_ he doing right now?”

Clint stiffened and then shook his head, dropping his gaze back down to the Accords. “I don’t think I should tell you,” he muttered. “Let me dig into this, Cap.”

“Alright,” Steve said. “Tell me what you think. I’m going to bed.”

Clint gave him a casual, lazy salute and picked up the Accords again. Steve hesitated for a moment and then leaned over to press a kiss to Clint’s temple before getting up and excusing himself to the bedroom, telling Sif she could leave for the night. Clint sent an amused look at the closed bedroom door and then raised his eyebrows at Sif as she sat next to him on the couch.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Sure, Sif. You know you don’t gotta ask.”

She nodded, reaching out for one of the abandoned wine glasses on the coffee table, and she picked it up and then drained it. “I think that was Steve’s,” she said to herself, refilling it again. “Clint...we have a day or two at most.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“The eve of battle is upon us and you sit here while Loki is in Hel.”

“Yeah.”

“You have faith we will win?”

Clint put the Accords onto the coffee table and turned to look up at her. “Sif, you don’t?”

“I am asking if you do.”

“I have faith in Loki,” he replied simply. “If I have anything, I have faith in him. Loki believes we’ll win, and if that’s what Loki believes, then I believe it too.”

“Steve believes we will win as well.”

Clint nodded. “If Steve Rogers believes in us, I can’t imagine there’s any reality where we lose.”

“He told me, you know. The truth. That this was all some spell brought about by Thor’s madness. He worked for thousands of years to bring this reality about, for the sole purpose of the battle that comes, and comes soon. If we fail, there are no more tries. This is it.”

“That’s why we’re going to win,” Clint assured her. “You’ve followed Steve for this long, how can you think he’ll fail?”

“I have followed the throne of Asgard for as long as I can remember,” Sif said. “I thought nothing would ever come before my loyalty to the crown. But I find that Steve comes before all of it. I pledged my life to his and when Thanos comes, I may have to watch him die.”

“That is the duty we take up,” Clint said. “That, if we do anything, we will be there when they die, and we will witness it. That we’ll be there at the end, even if it’s the last thing we do is make sure they do not die alone. _That_ is the purpose, Sif, and that’s why when Thanos comes, we’ll win. Because there is no other option. Because they told us we will win, and if it’s what they want, then we do everything to make it possible.”

“You love them.”

“More than anything else in the world.”

She nodded. “As do I. But I had to ask.”

“We’ll win, Sif. No matter what. Whatever it takes.”

* * *

Balder, Loki, and Heimdall were waiting for Clint and Steve when they woke up the next morning. They were standing outside the palace, Balder and Loki talking quietly as Heimdall’s eyes were glued to the steadily encroaching ships. Clint and Sif followed Steve as he greeted his King and husband and the two of them hung a few steps back as the four of them spoke quietly. Loki nodded in agreement and then held out a hand, and Clint went to him.

Loki’s hand slid over the back of Clint’s neck, fingers tucking under the golden snake, and Clint leaned against his side, supporting Loki as best as he was able.

Thanos was coming. He was no more than a day away, by Heimdall’s reckoning.

The end was upon them. The battle of their lives. Everything they had been working for was only hours away. They were in the end game.

It was Steve who brought up going back to Clint’s house for their very last night. No one disagreed, and Steve made sure everyone else knew how to get into contact with him if they needed him. Then Loki gathered everyone close and used the Tesseract to take everyone home.

Clint and Laura took their kids for a walk in the woods, Stephen joining up with them halfway through, taking Clint’s hand as they strolled along. Clint smiled up at him and leaned into Stephen’s side as they walked.

Loki and Steve sat together on the porch, hands clasped together, looking as their last sunset over Midgard. _I love you,_ Steve told him. _If this is the last time I ever say it, my last chance, then I want you to know._

 _And I love you as well,_ Loki promised him. _No matter what happens tomorrow, I love you._

Sam and Bucky found all the alcohol in the house and got drunk in bed together, both deciding not to talk about it. Regardless of what happened when Thanos came, they’d do it together, and that was all that mattered.

Later that night, Loki and Steve curled up in their bed together, and then after making sure the kids were in bed, Stephen, Clint, and Laura came to join them. The five of them curled together under the furs and held each other close, unsure of what was to come when they returned to Wakanda the next day but assured they would meet it.

But, then, outside, just as dawn began to break, the entire world broke and shattered around them with a deafening boom.


	17. chapter sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Devil comes to Midgard, and brings with him a reckoning.
> 
> Or:
> 
> The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *griffin mcelroy voice* THIS IS IT.

It took a few minutes for anyone to realize what was happening, and then the world erupted into chaos as they all surged into action. Loki and Clint ran outside and began activating wards, but they saw that Thanos’s ships were already hovering in the air, the great armies of the Mad Titan already beginning to spill out. They could both feel the seidr in the air, heavy and foreign and alien, and they exchanged significant looks. No seidrmadr in any galaxy, upon any Realm, in any universe, could be more powerful than them, but Thanos did enjoy making things difficult for them.

Stephen came outside and attempted to open portals, but whatever seidr cast by Thanos’s witches was too oppressive, and he began work alongside the two of them to dismantle it.

Loki conjured up his staff and slammed the butt of it on the ground, green seidr spilling over him. He was a Prince of Asgard and he would not go to battle in his nightwear. If he was meant to die today, he would be dressed in the finest regalia befitting an Aesir of his station. He would die in green leathers and gold armor and a long, flowing cape, magicked boots and his horned helm, shining upon his brow. Clint snapped his fingers and he wore purple leathers, an enchanted quiver upon his back, the ruby-hilted dagger upon his waist, heavy boots, and his Aesir bow in his hands.

Stephen was already dressed in his traditional clothes and his Cloak darted out of the house to wrap around his shoulders. Orange seidr began to sparkle around his shaking, scarred fingers. He reached out and touched Clint’s shoulder, the two of them making eye contact for what felt like the last time, and then Loki pushed off the ground to float up in the sky, Clint following.

“I would wish you luck,” Loki told Stephen, his face grim, “but we’re going to need more than that.” Then the two of them darted off through the air, towards Thanos, towards whatever destiny would bring, right as Steve and Bucky and Sam and Laura all burst out of the house. Sif followed behind after just a moment, wearing traditional battle attire, a shield of her own in one hand, along with her spear, over her own height in length, a wicked, jagged point on the end. She brought Steve attire befitting an Asgardian Prince and he quickly pulled it all on, gold and red and blue all catching the moonlight, a long cape flowing out from his shoulders.

“I’d ask what they’re going to go do but I already know,” Steve said, watching Loki and Clint fade into the sky before turning to Stephen. “What are you doing?”

“Dismantling the wards,” Stephen replied quickly, not looking at him. “They’re strong but I’m pulling power from all the magic Loki has around here.”

Steve held out his hand, palm up, and activated the Power Stone. Purple power curled around his fingers and pooled out of his palm and Stephen grinned sharply as he reached over and pressed his long fingers to the Stone. Power rushed through him and he gasped, eyes and mouth and skin going faintly purple, the Eye of Agamotto briefly glowing bright green upon his chest, and then he funneled it through and pushed it into the seidr he was already using to dismantle the spells Thanos’s seidrmadr had put upon the house.

“Want me to hold your hand too or are we good?” Sam asked. Bucky and Laura ran back inside to put the kids in the safe room and then to go get guns. Sif moved out into the lawn, tipping her head up to look at the ward above and the dark sky beyond it.

“If you think it’d help,” Steve chuckled through gritted teeth. “Get your shield, Captain America. We got a war to win.”

Sam gave him a shark-like grin and darted back inside. Steve held out a hand and called for Mjolnir and the hammer came to him, smacking into his palm. He called for a storm and the dark sky above, sunlight beginning to crown on the horizon, lightning curling around him. He pushed it into Stephen as well and Stephen shuddered, body and seidr overwhelmed.

“How much longer?” Steve asked.

“Loki and Clint are working on their end,” Stephen bit out. “I can feel it. Can’t you?”

Steve closed his eyes, tried to calm down the rapid beat of his heart. He was a being of battle and found himself calmer in war than out of it, but the time before the fight always made him anxious. He tried to find the bond between himself and his husband, and he could feel Loki as he worked his magic, as he rose above whatever machinations Thanos had thought to enact upon them, and Steve grinned, opening his eyes again. “Not long now,” he promised, pushing more power to Stephen.

Bucky, Laura, and Sam all clattered out onto the porch, outfit in battle gear. Bucky’s seidr arm caught the moonlight, as did the rifle in his hands. He wore Loki’s shadow tread coat with the left arm removed and when he buttoned it up, he sunk into the shadows. Laura held a rifle as well, and Sam carried his shield, dressed in his Captain America uniform, and he picked up a golden harness and slid it over his shoulders, Alfar wings spreading out from his back. Laura and Bucky had a few small vials of the simbelmyne potion that Loki had been brewing and they handed them out to everyone. They all looked good. Steve smiled at them, smiled at his friends, at his family.

It would be an honor to die alongside them, he thought as Thanos’s wards above them began to crack, Loki and Clint’s seidr flooding through all of them. 

“How’d he find us?” Bucky asked, looking up at the dark sky.

“The Infinity Stones,” Steve muttered, Stephen nodding in agreement. Sif moved back up onto the porch and stood near Steve, waiting for orders. “All three of us were here last night.”

“He must have been searching for it,” Stephen continued for him, a burst of Power turning his mouth purple as he spoke. “Not even Loki’s wards would’ve been powerful enough to mask three Infinity Stones.”

Very far off in the distance, they heard a war cry, and the great pounding of many feet running for them. Steve could feel that Loki and Clint were hard at work, but for all their power, they were still only two against thousands and thousands.

“Fuck,” Steve hissed. “We don’t have enough time.” He turned to them and raised Mjolnir. “Even if it's just us,” he snarled, “we fight. We fight to the last breath. We fight until there’s nothing left.”

“I’ll stay back and finish this,” Stephen told them, dragging a last burst of power from Steve and then forcibly yanking his hand back, orange sparkles of seidr bursting in rings around his fingers. “You just keep them away from me.” 

Sif, Sam, Bucky, and Laura all nodded, and Steve clapped Stephen on the back one last time and then led his soldiers into battle. Sif clapped a fist to her chest to give Stephen strength before following her Prince into war. Sam took to the sky, golden wings catching the moonlight, taking out outriders from the distance.

The outriders were endless, a roiling horde descending upon them, but Clint dropped out of the sky to run forward with them, alight with green seidr, bringing up a solid ward that would funnel the horde into something that wasn’t manageable but would make it less immediately deadly. “It won’t last forever,” Clint shouted, firing arrows through the gap, “but it’s better than nothing.”

Steve just nodded and activated the Power Stone, purple power surging through him, and he leapt high into the air, thunder booming around him, purple lighting wrapped around his legs and arms and torso and shooting out of his eyes and mouth and Clint laughed as Steve brought his hammer down on the first of the many outriders to come, lightning arcing out far from him, taking out a dozen outriders in one massive blast. Sif fought at his side, laughing in delight as the outriders fell easily before her. Bucky and Laura hung back, giving cover fire as Sam was still in the sky, throwing his shield and firing guns and missiles at everything he could. Clint stayed with them for a few minutes, endlessly firing arrows at the unending horde before Loki called him back up, and he shot back into the sky, leaving a seidr projection of him on the ground, firing seidr fire arrows at the enemy. It didn’t last long but it helped.

In the sky, wrapped in a ball of flame, Loki stood. Both his hands were stretched out in front of him, one of them wrapped around his staff, feeling for the ward Thanos’s seidrmadrs had put down to keep them imprisoned. Loki was willing to die but he was not willing to die without the full force of the armies he had spent years amassing behind him. He had put far too much effort into this to have it be left to only them.

 _Should I go talk to him?_ Clint asked, pointing an arrow off into the distance where they could see Thanos sitting in a great stone throne, staring directly at them. _This feels like a diversion. Something else is coming._

 _Something else always comes,_ Loki muttered, barely paying attention. He had already caused a rift to appear within the ward and was digging seidr into it to expand it, but it was slower going than he would’ve liked. He wanted to go down and help the warriors on the ground, fight alongside his husband and his friends, but that was more than anything Stephen could’ve done on his own.

Next to him, Clint fiddled with his quiver and pulled out an arrow. It was plain looking, no different than any other arrow in his quiver, made of a single tree from Alfheim, Nidavellir arrowhead, and fletching made from freely given feathers from the ravens of Asgard. He had dozens and dozens of them, all spelled differently and for different reasons. He used regular Midgard arrows as well, but they never flew quite as straight and true as those arrows.

He infused that arrow with as much seidr as it would hold. He looked down to see Bucky and Laura beginning to falter. They were only human, even as Bucky was enhanced, and while they could fight and fight well, almost no humans could stay standing in the tide against an unending horde. Steve showed no signs of faltering, nor did Sif, and Clint could never imagine they would, and Sam stayed in the sky. Far off in the distance, back near his house, Stephen was shrouded in flickering orange seidr. Clint watched them all for a moment and then turned his eyes to the sky, to the cracked ward above them.

He could feel the seidr in the air around them, crackling and rumbling and boiling up. Loki’s seidr was familiar, as was Stephen’s, and he harnessed as much as he could, funneling it into the arrow.

Far down below, Steve continued to fight. He and Sam exchanged the shield, ricocheting it off outriders and enemies and back up into the sky. It was an extension of both of their arms, both of them more than what they were before because of it. Steve’s grasp on Mjolnir never faltered as he endlessly swung it through every enemy that stood before him. He funneled purple lightning into every single outrider that came into his field of vision, dispassionately watching each of them explode before moving onto the next.

Bucky and Laura continued to provide as much cover fire as they could manage, using a somehow endless supply of bullets that neither of them thought about, but there were too many and they too few. Sif was strong and she knew an enemy such as this would only overcome them through sheer numbers. But she was a warrior of Asgard and she would not tire, would never falter. Sam was faster in the sky than on the ground, sending the Redwing drone out to attempt to take out outriders before they even came through the shuddering, shaking ward, but there were too many. They came too fast, too strong, ten taking the place of one defeated. Any moment of weakness or faltering or tiredness was overrun by dozens of beasts, pushing through the gap in the ward, killing themselves to kill them.

But Steve told them to fight, so they would all fight to the last breath, and beyond that as far as they could.

Clint aimed his arrow at the sky, at the great rift above them. He could feel something coming, something big, and as he loosed his arrow, Loki fueled it with even more seidr, and it buried itself in the rift above. At the exact same moment, down below, Stephen strode forward, shrouded in seidr as he funneled every bit of it he could manage into breaking the ward, and then, a great boom echoed over the fields as the Bifrost opened and Balder slammed into the top of the ward, bringing down all the storms with him.

The ward shattered and Stephen immediately opened a portal, bringing the five of them back to the house. The green ward Clint had put up shattered immediately and Balder crashed to the ground with a thundering strike of lightning that lit up the entire field, illuminating the massive ships and the endless hordes of armies in the distance. Loki and Clint gathered themselves back up and joined everyone. Clint ran to join his wife and the two of them hugged for a moment. Steve and Loki nodded to each other and then turned as one to Stephen. Sam and Bucky grabbed each other’s hands and held them for a moment before gathering themselves back up and turning to look at Stephen as well. Sif hung back a bit, waiting for instructions, smiling at Balder as he surged up the porch, Heimdall on his heels. 

“What happens next?” Balder boomed out, hefting Stormbreaker in his hand. “Where are the armies of Asgard, brother?”

Loki motioned to Stephen, who nodded and moved out into the open grass. Clint squeezed Laura’s hand and then joined him, Stephen opening portals and Clint using the Tesseract to open gateways.

Loki and Steve met each other’s gazes one last time and then Loki moved forward, finding the first of the geasa that held his poisoned seidr from so long ago, and he pressed down upon it, breaking the seal, and the funneled the seidr high up into the sky, a rictus of roiling flame, maddening whoever witnessed it, and then with a deft hand, tossed all of it onto the oncoming mass of outriders.

“That will buy us time,” Clint called back over his shoulder, “but not much of it.”

Everyone looked to Steve, who grit his teeth and lifted his chin and hefted Mjolnir. “We fight, then, to the last man,” he said, and the first of the warriors came through the portals. Steve greeted them and pointed the masses of armies to their places. Sif followed along behind him. Heimdall leapt up into the air and landed on the roof of Clint’s house, eyes turned ever to the sky above, Hofund clasped in his hands. Balder called for the Valkyrie as she came through the portals, leading the armies of Asgard behind her, and it did not take long at all for all the fields and forests and space around Clint’s home to be filled with all the armies of the Nine Realms.

Or, almost all of them. Hela was still nowhere to be found, but she would come. Loki was certain of it.

The Avengers found Steve as he stood before all the armies of the Nine and he smiled at his friends and comrades.

“Been fighting without us?” Tony asked, landing on the ground next to him. He handed out the latest versions of PLATO to all of them. “ARISTOTLE is already on the house, which is the highest spot of visibility around here. It’s constantly scanning and will know the second Thanos uses the Reality Stone. I have another ARISTOTLE system on my suit that will disrupt the Reality Stone.” A small compartment on his suit opened and he pulled out two PLATO bracelets and held them out to Steve. “Loki and Barton need to wear these.”

Eitri lumbered forward out of the mass of the amassing armies to say, “We managed to make the device safe against any of the other beings in the Nine, but Loki and Clint are entirely made of seidr and could not withstand the attack. This is all we can do.”

Steve nodded and reached forward to clasp Tony’s forearm. “Thank you,” he said, deeply and heartfelt. “Tony, I mean that. Thank you.” He looked up at Eitri and took in a deep breath. “We’ve made it this far. One last fight and this is all over.”

Eitri nodded slowly. “All of this has been for this battle.” His gaze turned to Thanos, far across the fields, still sitting in his massive stone throne, eyes locked on them. “We will win, Prince. There is no other option.”

Balder pushed through the warriors to stand at Steve’s side and the two of them looked out over the outriders running towards them. “What would you have us do?” Balder asked, hefting Stormbreaker. He smiled down at Steve when Steve chuckled. Behind them, the Avengers—Iron Man, Rescue, Spider-man, Ant Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Black Panther, Valkyrie, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon, Winter Soldier, War Machine, Hulk, Captain Marvel—all grouped into formation.

Steve smiled and he and Balder clasped each other's wrists and both raised their weapons high. Down came a crashing storm, lighting shrouding the two of them in a cage, so loud and powerful the oncoming outriders were blown back even as the allies behind them barely winced. Balder and Steve both roared, lightning in their eyes and thunder in their veins, and Steve pulled back and slammed Mjolnir into the ground, purple lightning coming down from the sky. The ground shook beneath him and then rose up in a towering column, high above the armies surrounding him.

There was no time left, but he took a moment to survey the thousands of amassed warriors. They stretched as far as the eye could see, the last of them still funneling through the portals, thousands and thousands of them, all joining one another in battle formations. Jotnar stood alongside fire giants, dark elves stood next to Sidhe, enemy stood next to enemy and resolved to die alongside them. 

Loki and Clint soon joined him. They floated in the air next to the column and Steve watched his husband’s face as he looked over the thousands gathered beneath them. “I did this,” Loki murmured, a smug smile curling into his voice. “We did it.”

Steve smiled at him. He held out the PLATO bracelets and Loki and Clint quickly put them on. “You should go now,” Steve said to them, motioning to Thanos in the far distance. Loki and Clint exchanged a glance and Steve chuckled. “What, like I don’t know you by now?”

“I would want to be known by none other,” Loki said to him, and held up the Tesseract, and both he and Clint vanished in a small puff of blue smoke.

Steve raised Mjolnir and thunder carried his voice all throughout the amassed armies, their faces turning to look at him. “My brothers! My sisters! My warriors-in-arms! I am Steve Rogers, Prince of Asgard, and I call you here to fight, and not only to fight, but to win.”

The Einherjar roared in agreement and then the other warriors of the Nine heard and began their own war chants. Balder and T’Challa both roared as their warriors joined each other in war chants. Steve smiled, grim and bloodthirsty, as he looked down over the thousands of gathered troops.

“We called you together for one great cause, and that cause is before us now. Asgard calls you to fight, and we are all Asgardian on this day and we do not lose our battles! Now we turn to our enemy and we tell them that we are stronger, that we are mightier, and we are going to win!”

He pointed Mjolnir directly at Thanos and the column beneath him crumbled and Carol, who had taken to the air, caught him and carried him to the ground.

“Bring me Thanos!” Steve roared, and as one, the armies of the Nine surged forward and met the oncoming outriders head on.

Far in the distance, Loki and Clint appeared in front of Thanos.

Loki had the fake Infinity Gauntlet on his right hand with the fake Reality Stone removed. Thanos glowered at him. Behind him, Clint had already secreted away the Tesseract and the Soul Stone he’d lifted off Bruce. 

Loki smiled at him and held up his right hand, the fake Infinity Gauntlet catching the first rays of sun coming up over the far horizon. Behind them, the roars of the armies of the Nine reached a fevered pitch and they could see Steve and Balder, shrouded in lightning, surging far ahead, sending outriders to the ground, no more than smoking remains. Loki chuckled at the sight.

“Does your inevitable demise fill you with fear?” he asked of the Mad Titan, who glared at him. “Do you feel the weight of your end pressing down upon you?”

Thanos pushed to his feet and picked up the double-edged sword. There was blood on one of the ends that he shook off. Behind him, they could see the headless corpse of one of his seidrmadrs. “You will be dead by the end of this,” Thanos vowed. “I have killed countless others before this and if I have to die to see you dead, Loki, then so be it. I have been tasked to save the universe and you are all that stands in my way.”

Overhead, where the dark sky was slowly lightening, a rift that seemed to suck all light into it slowly began to appear between the fading stars. A figure shrouded in light and flame flew across the battlefield and Loki smiled, tracking the figure for a moment before looking back up to Thanos.

It was...strange to stand there, stand in front of the beast he had been hunting for so long. So much time and energy had been funneled into everything that led him here to this very moment. He stood before Thanos, all of the armies of the entire Nine Realms at his back. They did not outnumber Thanos’s armies, but they were stronger and mightier and more powerful, and Loki smiled, for he knew they would win. Thanos could kill him here and now and it would not matter. He could die and nothing would change; he would come back regardless. Even if his body died, he would live on. Let him meet whatever end Thanos would bring him, as the war would be won with or without him.

He smiled again. Loki lifted his staff and looked up and down the length of it. He had fought many wars with this spear and he realized only then that he had never named it. He turned to look at Clint, who stood behind him, eyes locked on Thanos, bow at the ready.

“You can try,” he said finally to Thanos. “Bring down whatever end you wish. You lost long before this battle. You have been dead long before I killed you.” Loki chuckled to himself, shook his head. “Thanos, there is not even a battle to be won! Even if your outriders _do_ kill us all, what will you have left? Each of the Stones are bound to us with a dead man’s spell and even if you do manage to capture one of us, it will not even _matter._ ”

Thanos snarled. “I will kill you,” he bit out, baring large teeth. He hefted his sword and pointed it at Loki, who merely lifted his chin. “After I kill everyone you hold dear, after I slaughter your family and everyone you have ever cared about, I will tear you to pieces.”

Loki yanked at his tunic and armor until his throat was bared down to his chest. “Kill me then!” he barked. “My armies fight while you and I squabble like children.”

Behind them came a great deafening boom as Carol began to destroy the first ship, and Clint looked to see that the rift between the stars seemed to suck in all light as it began to crack open. Thanos took a step back and Loki bared his teeth in a dark smile.

The battle slowed to a stop as the rift cracked open with a mighty thunder. Everyone turned to look as Hela came through the crack in space and time, and Loki raised his staff to her. There was no way of telling if she even saw, but Loki thought she smiled.

The dead came.

They came and they came to fight. They poured out like water through a burst pipe. They came down upon Thanos’s armies like the army they were, endless and terrifying and a horde of beasts and soldiers and beings from all Realms. They were endless, of course, as were all dead things, and they were unable to die, and therefore had no fear in battle. As they had already died, death did not scare them, and they came down on their enemies like they were already dead. Each outrider and monster that died rose again to fight against their allies.

Thanos’s sword fell to the ground as he watched.

“You have already lost,” Loki repeated, turning to look again at Thanos. “Either lay down your life now, with honor, or I will take it from you, and you will die in the dirt like a dog. You have only lived this long by my grace, Thanos, and you will meet your end today, one way or another.”

Thanos picked up his sword and charged them, but he ran through Loki’s illusion, both Loki and Clint disappearing. He roared and raised the Gauntlet, Reality Stone shrouding his hand in red flame. He lifted his double-edged sword and leapt forward, out into battle, the outriders and warriors making a path for him as Thanos fought and killed everything that came near him. One by one, various PLATO bracelets began lighting up and the ARISTOTLE machines sent out waves of alerts as Thanos attempted to change reality around him but it refused to change.

At the same time, Iron Man engaged the machine he had been working on for the past few months. He had spent hours, tireless endless hours, working on the schematics he had gotten from Niflheim, and he had modified it, with Clint’s help. He had worked both on this machine, for which he did not have a name, and on harnessing the power of the leylines that criss-crossed Earth. Tony Stark was many things, some of them good and some of them bad, but at the end of the day, he was an inventor, and he used everything available to him, regardless of the source.

The modified PLATO bracelets had another use besides connecting with one another to detect and disrupt use of the Reality Stone. They worked in tandem to create a type of forcefield to hold in atmosphere, which meant that Tony could activate a machine that turned all the air around them to Niflheim mist without any of their people dying. It would not last long, and the machine did not work well on Earth, but it was something. It was better than something.

ARISTOTLE detected use of the Reality Stone and the smaller version of it on Tony’s back began to activate and send out a signal to all of the bracelets. They began to glow as they powered up, and Tony activated another device that worked with information he’d taken from when Loki had used seidr around him, as well as information Clint had given him, and he found the leylines. One ran right underneath Clint’s house, which he hadn’t been expecting but wasn’t surprised by.

None of the Avengers paid any attention to Iron Man suddenly lifting off from battle and taking off back towards the house. Steve glanced after him but quickly turned his attention to battle, and Rescue took Iron Man’s place, fighting alongside their comrades, fighting in front of the armies of the Nine Realms. All of the Nine, now that the dead had joined them.

Hela had kept her bargain, and it was time for Tony to keep his.

He landed next to Clint’s house. He scanned it, double checked that Clint’s kids were safe in the safe room, and then got to work. It was difficult work, given that he was not magically inclined in the slightest, but he was determined, and that made up for a lot of discrepancies and lack of innate ability.

Clint appeared next to him as he tried to figure out how to grab hold of the seidr inside the leylines that seemed to be both rapidly moving and standing still. Clint grinned at him. “I know we were supposed to practice this before the battle,” Clint told him, gently setting his bow down on the ground. “But we didn’t have time, so I guess I’ll have to do it for you. Tell me what needs done.”

The visor over Tony’s face slid back and he looked down at the bowman. There were many things he could say, but he decided on none of them. “I can see the seidr in the leylines,” he told Clint, who nodded, “but there’s no way for me to get it into the machine. I need you to do that.”

Clint nodded. He pushed forward and stood directly next to his house, facing out, right over one of the leylines, and held both of his hands out in front of him, palms down. He tried to remember everything that he had learned from the Sidhe in funneling seidr, and far off in the distance, Thanos charged into battle. Loki met him head on, but Clint knew he could take care of himself and focused on doing what needed to be done. It was surprisingly easy to draw the seidr out, easy to funnel it out of the leyline and high up into the air into something new, easier than it would’ve been just a few short weeks ago. He’d become frightfully powerful lately, ever since he’d been branded.

Instead of sharing power, he and Loki now fed off each other, doubling their power every time they used it. It was going to be interesting how they worked after this was all over, after it was all done, if they were even safe to be around now that they were very obviously the most powerful beings in all the galaxy.

Iron Man came around and turned his back to Clint, nanoparticles funneling around his suit to create a conduit for the Niflheim machine.

“It’s gonna hurt!” Clint called out, sending seidr higher up into the air, swirling in a cone, and then back down.

“I can handle it,” Tony swore and Clint shrugged. They’d see about that. Tony was smart and all, but he was still only human, and in the grand scheme of things, humans were not made to withstand great acts such as this. But this was how the war had to be won, after all, and they were going to win, regardless of the price.

The seidr felt like fire in his hands. It was not hot, but it felt like being burned with great flames. Loki had burned him before, had taken him and set him on fire, and the seidr he pulled from the earth felt like his skin had felt after Loki had finished with him. But he was a being beyond pain, now, and he only noticed in the periphery, almost as if it was happening to someone else.

Seidr was an interesting thing. It was possessive of what belonged to it, and it was both changeable and resistant to change. It existed and did not exist, not in a way that others without prior knowledge would understand. It took a being of immense, unbelievable power to change established seidr from it’s path, and Clint accomplished it easily. There were many things he had done in his life that he had previously thought impossible, and redirecting seidr from a leyline was meant to be done only by someone with no other options left, or by someone who was using it to create something terrible and destructive and world-ending. Or, perhaps, by beings who had been forced from their home and were intent on taking it back.

Clint smiled to himself.

If this was easy, what else could he do?

“Get ready,” he yelled, and Tony staggered forward as seidr funneled into his suit. All of the mechanisms and weapons flared out and Tony screamed, the scream of someone who had never experienced pain like that before in their life. “Walk in a straight line! I’ll mark a path.”

“Power at 500%,” came FRIDAY’s voice from inside Tony’s suit as he finally stopped screaming. Clint made sure the connection was secure and the seidr wasn’t going to slip away and then ran around to make sure Tony was going to make it. The man was sobbing into the dirt, tears streaking down his face, and Clint grabbed his shoulders.

“Listen to me,” Clint barked out. “Get ahold of yourself, Stark. This isn’t the time for you to take a break. I told you it was going to hurt.”

Tony let out a sob so hard he gagged but then slowly managed to gather himself up into something resembling presentable and functional. “Fuck,” he gasped out. “You said it would hurt, but this is—like—I don’t—”

“Like being burned alive,” Clint finished for him, helping Tony to his feet. He rested both his hands on Tony’s armored shoulders. “I’ll mark a path. This is...Tony, I don’t know what’s going to happen to you, but you’re under Loki’s protection right now. He’ll keep you safe. But you _can’t_ stray off the path. I mean it. I’ll mark it for you but you’re in a pretty fuckin’ precarious situation right now.” He shook his head. “Humans aren’t supposed to conduct as much seidr as you are right now. Your suit is helping, but Tony...you hold this for too long, it’ll kill you.”

Tony took a deep, shuddering breath. He reached forward with one shaking hand and rested it on Clint’s shoulder. “I know,” he said, simply and calmly, through the tears in his voice from the pain. “If that’s what it takes to finish this, then so be it.”

Clint paused, holding out his hand to summon his bow. It smacked into his palm as he took a moment to think. He wondered if it was even worth it, if he and Loki should’ve just ended this entire thing months ago, if bringing everyone together to make sure the end truly came for Thanos was really worth the death of their friends and comrades. It wasn’t like they had a choice, after all, not anymore, but perhaps…

He shook his head. No time for second guessing. He wasn’t the type.

He looked at Tony, watched as the Iron Man visor closed down over his face. “Follow me,” he said, and walked down the swirling, twisting path. He set markers down for Tony to follow and once he made sure Tony was moving and not going to fall down, he began to run.

“Wait!” Tony yelled, and Clint turned back. “Your bracelets won’t keep you and Loki from getting poisoned by the mist.”

Clint laughed at that. They’d be alright. Not like he needed to breathe, anyway, and Loki wouldn’t have any hardship. He raised a hand in acknowledgment and vanished, reappearing in the midst of battle, fighting at Steve’s side.

“Glad to see you finally got out here!” Steve called over, laughing as lightning came down and struck the outrider he’d been about to bring Mjolnir down on. He called over an acknowledgement to Balder and continued to fight. “How was your nap?”

“Wish it had been more restful,” Clint grinned, kicking seidr out to create a platform that took him above the fray. He fired arrow after arrow into the endless, oncoming horde. He watched as the various versions of PLATO began to activate, all of them turning red. “Get ready!”

When the mist rolled in, it was heavy. It was cloying. It dampened all sound and as Steve fought through it, all he could hear was his own heavy breaths. He belonged in battle. It was his place in the world. He never felt more alive or more himself than when he was fighting. Outriders, demonic and inhuman and _other_ , came towards him in the fog, and he fought them all off, killed as many as he could manage. Arrows shot over his shoulders, taking a few of them down so he could kill them easier, killing others that he did not even see until he came across their corpses.

He did not grow tired. He did not grow weary. His arms did not ache. His body did not bruise. He did not falter. He fought and would fight until there was nothing left, nothing standing in his way.

As he was Steve Rogers, he always stood back up. He always fought. Even if the battle was impossible, even if his only outcome was to lose, he would still fight. There were no other options. But as the War Prince of Asgard, he was unbeatable. There were no fights he could not win. There was no battle too great, no enemy too strong, no realm he could not conquer. He fought in front of all the Nine Realms, all of them at his back.

He fought through the poison mist. Steve did not think about how he could still breathe; all that mattered was that he was still on his feet, still able to fight. Sam landed on the ground next to him, unable to see through the mist up in the air, charging forward with him, the two of them effortlessly exchanging the shield as they fought and killed whatever happened to come their way.

Battle was inevitable. The world around him always came down to war. He fought because he would always fight, because he was a being created for battle, a man made for war.

 _Who are you?_ the world asked.

 _I am Steve Rogers,_ he answered, _and I am war._

He brought the Nine Realms into battle and he led them to Hel to fight the Devil.

Out of the corner of his eye, through a sudden break in the mist, Steve saw something, and he stopped fighting to turn and look at it.

Iron Man walked through the mist, on fire.

“Fall back!” he cried out. “Regroup and fall back!”

The outriders had slowed with the encroaching mist, the closest of them falling in piles as they suffocated and choked and died out. But the second wave would soon come, Steve knew, and he also knew that they had been fighting endlessly for what felt like hours or days, and even immortals needed moments to rest.

“Fall back!” he called out again, using seidr to amplify his voice. “Regroup!”

Balder joined him as Steve turned his back to the oncoming horde and waved away the mist that seemed to hover just in front of everyone, not close enough to choke them but far enough away that they had a breath of fresh air. Sif came up behind him and made sure Steve was alright before nodding to him and then looking out over her fellow soldiers.

“What the fuck?” someone said, and Steve turned his head to see that the mist had parted for them to show Iron Man walking in a straight line, covered in seidr fire.

There was a rush of cold air and then Hela said, “What an interesting group of characters you’ve gathered, brother.”

Balder laughed and Steve turned to watch as the King surged forward to wrap his sister in a hug. “I am glad to see you, Hela,” Balder said as he held her tight and then set her down. “I see you brought your armies.”

Hela smiled, her teeth slicked with blood. She laughed, high and cold. “I see you brought many to die for my armies,” she replied. Steve smiled at her.

“I hope not too many more,” he said. He motioned at Tony. “Any idea on what’s going on there?”

“I know Clint spoke with him,” Sam offered up from behind him. “I was flying over and saw him and Clint doing something near the house, and then Clint took off running and Stark set himself on fire and all that mist started coming out of his suit. At least that’s what it looked like to me.”

The mist started moving in ways where they could see through it if they needed. Far off in the distance, on the very far edge of the field, Thanos battled through hordes of warriors, some his own and some who had not heard Steve’s call. He was surrounded by a circle of seidrmadrs and massive aliens the size of buildings, all moving and rotating around him, keeping him from harm but still giving him enough leeway and room to kill whoever came within arm’s reach. Steve rubbed a hand over his face.

“Where’s Loki?” he asked. “Anyone seen him?”

He’d decided to ignore Tony being on fire for now. Steve wasn’t sure he had the mental capacity to really deal with whatever that was while also trying to lead thousands of troops into war. He was sure either Clint or Loki were keeping an eye on Tony, given that there was no way Tony could summon seidr fire on his own. 

Everyone around him shook their heads. Steve sighed. Alright. Loki could take care of himself, he knew that, but he still worried. Clint wouldn’t let anything happen to him. There probably wasn’t any being or person on any realm or any planet in the entire galaxy that was safer than Loki was with Clint around.

The mist parted for just long enough for all of them to see that Carol had finally destroyed Thanos’s last ship and it was falling in pieces from the sky, raining down on the far side of the battlefield.

“That’s going to be a pain in the ass to clean up,” Bucky piped up. Steve turned to smile at him. Bucky stood next to Sam, dirty and disheveled, hair a mess, tired but smiling a bit. Steve knew Bucky did not want to fight, had never wanted to fight, not in the way Steve himself did. But Bucky did what needed to be done, as did they all. Steve nodded to him, and then looked back around the small group of Avengers gathered around.

“Get everyone in line,” he told all of them, using Mjolnir to draw a line in the dirt. “We regroup, we get our breath back, and then we finish this.” Steve looked at all of them, looked at his friends, his allies, the people who had come this far with him and would go with him until the very end. They began to move, some of them calling down the line to the other factions and realms, and Steve nodded to himself, watching as they all regrouped.

The mist parted and Helblindi and Byleistr came through, followed by Natigus. Steve smiled at them, lifted Mjolnir up so it was resting up on his shoulder. “Thought you were staying home?”

“Our brother fights,” Helblindi told him. “Our armies fight.” He looked around at the gathered thousands of them through the rolling mist. “How can we stay home when our very own die for us?”

“Where is he?” Byleistr asked, looking up and down the line. “Where is Loki?”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Somewhere out in the fray, I imagine. I know he’s still here, know he hasn’t left, but other than that, I don’t know.” The mist parted again to show Iron Man in the distance, still walking, still on fire. “I know he had something to do with that,” Steve told them, motioning towards Tony. The two Jotun and Natigus turned to look. “But Loki can take care of himself,” he finished, glancing at the Avengers around him one last time before turning towards the battle ahead. “We have to watch out for ourselves. I’d know if he was hurt or worse. He’s taking care of whatever he needs to take care of and we need to take care of ourselves.”

Steve moved out in front of the line and held Mjolnir up to the sky. He infused the hammer with power and purple clouds began to gather overhead, a bit of a wind picking up, clearing the mist enough that Steve could see down the line and the beginnings of the outriders beginning to regroup. They had a few minutes, if that. A bolt of flame darted towards him over the field of battle and Steve held up a hand for her and Carol caught it, spinning around him to land in front of Steve.

“Are you ready?” Carol asked, standing next to him, the two of them shoulder to shoulder as they looked out over the armies headed towards them.

“I know it’s overplayed,” Steve chuckled, “but I was born for this.”

A great bolt of purple lightning came down and shattered the world around them.

Steve’s voice echoed over the battlefield.

“There comes a day,” he called to everyone that would listen, “when everyone must stand and fight. When we must take up arms and turn our faces to war, when we remember that nothing comes to those who sit idly by and wait. We are here to _take_ our victory by any means necessary, and we are well on our way!” He held out his hand and Carol took it, lifting him up into the air over the gathered forces. Even the dead had stopped fighting to listen to him, even if just for a moment. A seidr shelf appeared beneath them and Steve thought he saw a glint of green in the swirling mists below, and he smiled a bit to himself. He and Carol stood, just for a moment, looking out over the gathered armies and the monsters on the horizon.

“I know we are all here today because of Asgard,” he continued. “We fight because Loki asks it of us, because our future, our _world_ , our way of life, demands it. If we want to keep living, we fight. We take our future, what is ours, by force if we must, because it is ours by right.”

One by one, the lines of armies beneath them began to stomp their feet and chant.

He looked down to see his friends. Sam, Bucky, Laura. He looked down to see people he loved fighting alongside strangers and those who should have been enemies if he had listened at all to bigoted tales of old. He looked down to see them all gathered there because he had asked, because he had faith, because Loki knew what was coming and knew they had to fight for it

For the first time in a very long time, words faltered in Steve’s mouth.

“We fight!” Carol roared, and with a burst of power of her own, shrouded in flame, she led their troops into battle. Steve shook his mind loose from the muddle it had been caught in and followed, but he would remember that single moment for a very long time.

He broke the seidr shelf with a stomp of his foot and plummeted towards the ground, landing on his feet and running into battle. He soon lost himself in the fight, killing anything that crossed his path, and Steve sent a mental note to Loki, wherever he was, whatever he was doing, that it would all be over soon.

Loki, was, in fact, working very hard to make sure that happened. He and Clint were far back in the battle, making sure that Tony Stark survived, as well as reinforcing the spell that kept their armies from suffocating from the Niflheim mist. They had all surrounded themselves with the dead, which kept them safe, while the two of them worked together to save the world. Stephen kept close to them as well, but he had his own duties, and merely did his best to make sure that they were still alive.

Not that either of them worried much about dying.

Loki had spent a very long time figuring out various ways to kill Thanos. There were dozens of ways to do it, dozens of ways to watch him suffer and to make him _pay_. Loki did enjoy revenge, after all, but in the end, in the here and now, what mattered was death. He would enjoy it, yes, but what mattered most was Thanos’s head removed from his body and the Gauntlet destroyed. _That_ was the goal, not any fleeting feeling of Thanos coming what was inevitably due to him.

He broke his staff over his knee and remolded it into a spear. The spear had no name either, but it vibrated with power. It was surely the most powerful weapon Loki had ever wielded, and he had crafted it with his own two hands. Or Clint had crafted it. The difference meant nothing anymore.

The two of them did not speak as they enacted their final ritual upon the spear. It was long, taller than Loki, with a sharp, dangerous point that was over a foot long. He had opened the rest of the geasa and funneled his poisoned seidr into the sharp point, and no metal, mortal or otherwise, would be capable of bending it. It was the physical embodiment of the _Dugreptir_ spell, the one Loki had learned so long ago, for this very purpose. The shaft was long and well-shaped to Loki’s hand, and it felt at home in his grasp. It was the culmination of many, many years of work, the culmination of all Loki had suffered. 

It was the end. It would be the weapon that brought down the Mad Titan. It would be the spear that pierced the veil and brought about whatever end that was wrought. 

Their hands clasped over the spear and Loki and Clint looked at each other. They had come all this way because of each other. Loki had truly made it this far because of this man, and Clint would surely not even be a part of this fight if not for Loki. But they were both in their places, both where they were meant to be. There was more, much more, that still could be said between them, but neither of them said anything. They already knew everything that could be said. There were no secrets between them, nothing left unsaid. No two beings on any realm, on any planet, on any lost star or empty world, knew each other as well or as intimately as Clint and Loki knew each other.

There was no end that Clint would not follow Loki to, and there was no end that Loki would not find himself without Clint. They were two not even two halves of a whole; they were one being, wrapped up in each other, unable to separate.

Thanos knew that, they knew. They intended to not let him have a chance to use that knowledge.

 _If this is it, if this is the end,_ Lok asked, _will we meet again in the next life?_

 _It is the sole reason I live at all,_ Clint promised him. Loki nodded in relief.

The two of them cloaked themselves in seidr. Even with all that had come before, neither of them were tired, and Clint imagined that they could not tire. They still had more seidr than Loki had ever even _felt_ in his entire life, and he knew that it was only the beginning. Every time one of them accessed it, used it, it only multiplied. Something had changed in the world, something major, something that made them so powerful, and Loki believed it was each other. Bonds like the one they had were rare, if they even existed at all between any other beings besides them. Minds were not meant to meld so completely with another; it was unnatural and the mind often broke with telepathic bonds. Instead, it made them stronger.

Everything that was meant to be impossible had become possible between them.

They looked at each other over the spear and Loki smiled.

He loved his husband, but he was not tied up intrinsically within him like he was with Clint. It was impossible to separate himself from Clint in any way that mattered, in any way that made a difference. If he needed, he and Steve could separate, but he and Clint? Now, after everything, they were the same.

Which meant that Loki loved him most. He was not ashamed of it. He knew that Steve knew the truth as well, but Loki was in love with Steve in a very specific way that he did not feel for Clint. Perhaps it was the only thing he had for himself that was not shared.

Which meant that Loki could not risk him, not there, not at the end of all things.

In Loki’s life, in any number of lives, he had fought in a great number of battles. A countless number, really. He had fought thousands upon thousands of enemies, in all types of worlds and realms and planets, in all types of conditions. He had fought for longer than he had lived in peace. For all he claimed to be no great warrior, Loki was more at home on the battlefield than nearly anywhere else. He was a son of Asgard, after all, and a Prince of hers as well, and he could be no great prince if he was not as bloodthirsty as all the rest of them.

War was endless. It always came and went and started again. Loki had spent so long being dragged into battle after battle, and now he faced this one head on.

He rose up into the air and looked down at the chaos Thor’s actions had wrought. It had all led to this, after all, all the pain and all the deaths and all the dying had both started and stopped by Thanos. Thor had once failed to kill the Mad Titan and it had, in turn, driven him mad, and Loki had been the one to stop the endless madness, even if he was mad himself. It had all come to this, all these years of work, all the endless times of Thor bringing Mjolnir down upon him, again and again.

He had long known the power of stories. He had long known the ability to change the outcome of a war by what tales he spread amongst their enemies. He had long known how to speak and be heard, even if what he said was not what others wished to hear. It had been his own silver tongue that brought these armies together, brought this war to Midgard, brought down this reckoning. He had worked tirelessly for this outcome and he would see it through.

He looked across the battlefield to see Thanos, moving ever closer, killing dozens with his double-edged sword, a monster and a beast. But Loki had killed beasts and monsters far greater than this one, and he was more than what others expected of him.

He took in a deep breath, one unencumbered by Mjolnir’s weight upon his chest, and looked down at the ground beneath him. He summoned all seidr he had left and he would put it to good use, even if this was the last time to ever use it. He floated above the battle, floated above the last of it all, and it was all because of him. He had orchestrated all of this, had done what even the great Thor could not do, and he smiled, his hand tightening around the unnamed spear in his grasp.

He watched Balder, his brother, the God-King, the Brave and the Beautiful, the Aesir that Thor could’ve been, watched him slaughter his way through countless enemies, bringing down the storm, lightning his war dogs and thunder his siren. He watched Steve, his husband, the human he had tied himself to, watched him as he never faltered, watched as he threw himself into battle again and again, endless, fighting for whatever end would be brought before him. He watched the Avengers, the armies of the Nine, the endless dead, and he looked at all of them and knew them. This was a story he would tell and this was a story he would not change. He knew what was going to happen next.

He had fought thousands of thousands of battles, and many had been greater and harder than this. He had, after all, killed Thor. He had killed every single opponent who had ever dared rise against him, and he knew Thanos would be no different, not now, not here at the end. Who was a beast such as Thanos to the Frightful Prince of Asgard? Loki was no weak _ergi_ , he was no Tori, he was the Frightful Prince, he was the mage of Asgard, he was the most powerful seidrmadr in the Nine Realms, and there were none who could stand against him.

Loki had spent years in war, had spent weeks and months and years and endless ages without sleep and food and all he had known was the fight in front of him. It was no different now, and it would be no different in the future. He was a warrior, after all, and he held out his hand, and Mjolnir smacked into his palm.

He would not need the hammer, not at the end, but it brought him a bit of comfort to wield it, to carry the hammer that had killed him so many times into the final battle, to the very end. 

Within the massive, roiling rictus of battle, Loki rose far above, sheathed in green flame and lightning, phantasmal and resplendent, and he smiled, baring his bloodstained teeth.

Thanos fought through the last of the outriders and allies between them and stood before Loki and Clint, panting and bloodthirsty and far, far beyond fury.

Loki pointed to the battlefield before them with his spear, to where Steve and Balder fought side by side, enshrouded in lighting, the rumble of thunder ever present against the roar of battle. “Go,” he ordered. “Fight alongside your King.”

The last moment, the last few seconds before Loki brought down the spear he had spent every part of himself crafting for this one singular purpose, were between him and Thanos alone.

Clint looked at him, looked between Loki and Thanos, and then lowered his Aesir bow. He rested the tip on the ground and clasped both hands around the top of the recurve. “No,” he said, voice calm and smooth and collected. “You are my King, you are my Prince, and you are my God. I fight and die alongside none other.”

Loki looked at him, looked at the man who woke up every morning and chose him again, chose to have faith in him and never faltered in that belief. He blinked away sudden tears that rose up in his eyes. “Fight alongside my King, then,” he demanded, and Clint slowly shook his head. He did not look away from Loki, not even as Thanos moved closer, hefting his double-edged sword, Gauntlet catching the sun.

“I am yours,” Clint told him. Even in the face of certain death, he was calm. Thanos could kill him and he would emerge anew; he knew that, and he was not frightened. There was nothing Thanos could take from him that he was not already prepared to lose. There was nothing he would not give up for Loki. Nothing. “If this is the price to pay for my loyalty, then take it. Let it end. Bring down whatever reckoning you must. I cannot be killed in a way that matters. I will come back because you command it, and I will serve you until the end, until you have reached the last of your days, because I am yours.”

With that, both of them saw Thanos smile.

Then, with a great hand wreathed in red flame, the Reality Stone gleaming out from the Gauntlet, Thanos reached inside of him and pulled. 

Clint screamed—no, he did more than scream. He yelled, he shrieked, he screeched, he howled, he called out for whoever would answer, yet there was no one there. It felt as if his very bones had been pulled out of him, leaving him a husk of a man collapsed on the battlefield. He crumpled down, gasping and sobbing and whimpering, dropping his weapons, clutching whatever remained of his chest to try and keep it all in. It felt as if someone had crawled inside of him and clawed their way out and he was left with all of him being hollow and all waste. 

He gagged and looked up to see Thanos laughing.

“That little device you humans made worked on everyone else,” Thanos sneered, “I could feel it. But I knew it didn’t work on you.” He held up his hand, the Gauntlet catching the bloody light of the sun. “How does it feel, human, to be alone?”

Clint turned his head to see Loki, snarling and spitting and cutting down every enemy that had suddenly rose up between them, eyes locked on Thanos, and with shaking hands, Clint picked up his bow from the dirt. He had one arrow left.

Sometimes, when Clint was at his wits end, when he’d found the last straw, when he had nothing left yet still needed more to give, he would close his eyes and breathe out a prayer. Not to God, not to anyone, not to Loki, just a wish put out into the universe that his aim would be true, his eye would be right, and that he would not fail, and he never did. He was just a man, after all, even if he was capable of things far more than any other man. Perhaps not human, but still just a man.

He did not pray this time. When Clint pushed to his feet again, nocking his final arrow and keeping his eyes locked with Thanos’s, he did not pray. He only knew that even without a wife, even without his children, even without whatever it was that Thanos had taken from him, he would not miss. He never missed. 

He raised his bow and unfalteringly pulled back the draw. His thumb brushed the corner of his mouth. His shoulders and back tightened and locked. His wrists ached and his hands began to go numb, but he did not feel it. A very faint ringing, as if from very far away, began to sound in his ears. 

He did not have to aim. The arrow would not miss.

The spear, the nameless weapon that Loki had spent so long crafting, the most powerful weapon any of them had ever seen, fell from Loki’s hands as he reached out towards Clint, even Mjolnir forgotten in his cry, but the dead separated them, and Clint had always been a bit too fast for his own good.

The world was not silent around him as he loosed his final arrow, but Clint did not hear anything. All he saw was the long flight, the spin, and the inevitable end as Thanos was not fast enough to change his destiny, and the arrow sunk into his eye.

Thanos wavered, as if unable to believe it, then dropped to his knees, and then fell forward, dead.

The bow dropped from his hand and he turned to meet Loki’s gaze one last time.

All went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing and coming along for the nearly 600,000 words that brought us all the way here. the next two fics in this series are finished, i'll start posting the next one in a couple weeks. just as a little reassurance: no one is dead (besides thanos). they're not fine, but they're all alive.
> 
> thanks again! please (please please) leave kudos and comments.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoyed!
> 
> please follow me:  
> tumblr: @deluxemycroft  
> twitter: @whenhedied


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